BENGALURU: As you step inside tiger territory, the first thing that comes to your mind is the saying: “You are safe when you sight the animal first and not the other way around!” This is exactly what one learns in the domain of tigers.
One has to walk carefully with minimum disturbance (even avoiding the rustling of dry leaves beneath the feet) so the animals are not disturbed and you are able to count them. Walking in the core critical tiger habitat, one needs perseverance, patience and alertness. This crucial effort makes a forest staffer, and it is even more vital during a census.
Forest my home, my pride, says guard
When the forester, Chandrashekar, stopped me and kept staring beyond the lake, I followed his gaze. That’s when I saw a majestic tiger resting. It is a one-of-its-kind experience to sight a tiger in its natural habitat while on foot. After starting the exercise of sign survey with a team of forest staffers on a foggy cold morning at 6.30 on January 23, we had not walked more than a mile when a herd of spotted deer caught us by surprise.
After counting them, I had just taken a few steps with the team when I spotted a herd of elephants carefully guarding their young and keeping a close watch on our movements. Though armed guards were accompanying the survey team, the fear was palpable, but it paled in comparison with the splendour of natural beauty.
Making notes with the team, I had just moved a little further when I saw a family of gaurs whose calm grazing was soothing. But the forest guard reminded me to remain alert and cautious as the bison can get aggressive -- a caution always exercised while in the tiger’s land.
As part of the exercise, the staffers were to walk a stretch of 5 km making notes of all that they saw, especially signs of tigers -- pugmarks, scratches on tree trunks, scat samples, territorial markings and the calls. During the assessment, notes of elephant dung, leopard and sloth bear scats were also taken. The staffers explained each bird call and what it meant.
As I was getting tired of walking, I decided to take a break. That was when sudden stillness and calls of langurs rent the air. The forest guard was suddenly alert. As he turned his head slowly and in silence to the left, I followed his movement and I sighted the tiger. In awe of the tiger’s presence, I was suddenly aware of what the guard had told me at the start of the assessment: “This is my home, my forest, my pride; and protecting it is my duty!”