Ssshh… Was that a growl? Whispered someone, and we froze in our tracks! Our garrulous guide who had been talking nonstop until then fell totally silent and I thought he looked a little pale. The guy had been regaling us with stories of leopards and tigers in his backyard until now but had lost his devil may care attitude and was peering intently down the hillside!
We were in the midst of the Wayanad forests in Kerala. Trekking through a 200 acre private estate that had been completely reclaimed by the jungle. We knew that there was at least one tiger in the vicinity, having earlier found the bones and antlers of a Sambhar stag that had been stalked, killed and eaten right next to the cottage we were staying in. And we had seen scratch marks high up on a tree trunk. This was where the local leopards would climb up to watch the cottage and see if any delicious dogs had been left unattended. Earlier the manager of the property had shared an anecdote about how he took his dog to answer nature’s call on a rainy night. For some reason it kept whining, hiding behind his legs and staring onto the mud bank right above the track. This piqued his curiosity and he swung his torch onto the bank, only to find a startled leopard staring right back at him from 10 feet away! It is unclear as to who bolted first. Suffice to say that both parties departed at considerable speed and the lucky dog lived to tell the tale!
As for elephants, they had made their displeasure abundantly clear to us earlier by grumbling and breaking bamboo stems violently as we trudged through a rain soaked nullah next to their feeding patch. We beat a hasty retreat when a massive grey forehead started to push through the bushes towards us. Retreating up the hillside at a rapid pace, hearts beating fast and adrenalin pumping.
All this was nothing compared to the distinct sense of danger that accompanied the faint growl we had just heard! We knew enough to know that the growl was just a warning and that the animal would have moved away quickly by now. But I still could not contain a faint tremor as the guide gestured to be cautious and slowly started moving down the hillside. As we pushed through the bushes, we suddenly came onto the abode of a tiger. The grass was neatly flatted in a 2mt radius where it had been laying down and the ground was still warm. Closer examination revealed several strands of hair stuck on surrounding twigs. The kind that are lighter in colour and come from the belly area of a tiger. A few feet away from here was a trail leading downwards. Imprinted in the wet mud of the trail were the pugmarks of a young tigress; Queen of the jungle. So we were in the presence of a lady! These pugmarks could be seen pressing downwards and leaving faint skid marks as she hurried to remove herself from our vicinity. She had been there barely seconds before.
The resting spot itself was a wonderful study in animal behavior. Tigers take great care in choosing their lair. They may appear to be lazing in a bush but they are always watchful. They maintain a clear view of where danger can approach from, lines of escape as well as the best chances of spotting possible prey. Our Tigress had been lying on a hillside and looking downwards. The spot was right on a ridge and there were clear views down the slopes to either side. A track ran alongside the base of the hill before falling off again into a valley. From her position she could watch for prey coming along the track and quickly sneak down to ambush it. The only weak spot was the blind approach from above. But it was shielded by bushes and the hillside was covered in leaf litter, ensuring that any approaching danger could be heard well in advance. Allowing her to graciously warn us before we blundered right onto her!
The question was where she was right now? As we slowly started to move further downhill, there was a sudden burst of activity from below the track that we were heading towards. Jungle fowl burst into a tree in panic, giving the characteristic Uka-kuk-kuk…kuk warning call in their exaggerated fashion. Only those who have been on foot in a jungle know the scary sensation of absolute stillness being broken by the thrashing wings of a francolin or a rooster as they take off from the bushes. Our hearts jumped into our mouths but we heaved a sigh of relief later. For we knew that this meant the queen was moving downwards to a quieter place. As we stood on the track and scanned the bushes below, we could see the bushes move and the outline of her back and her tail as she walked away. There was a surreal feeling of having been so close to danger and yet, so incredibly lucky to have experienced something so rare in this world.
