Rukhad, Pench

Panthera tigris tigris

ENDANGERED

The presence of a tiger changes the jungle around it, and those changes are easier to detect. Bird calls darken, small deer call softly to each other. Herds do not run but drift into shapes that suggest some emerging group consciousness of an escape route. A kind of shiver seems to run through everything, a low hum that sounds — literally, in the whispered Hindi conversation of the guides —  like sher, sher, sher! This zone of apprehension follows the tiger as it moves. Often, the best way to find a cat is to switch off your engine and listen. You might then hear, from a distance, the subtle changes in pitch and cadence that indicate a boundary of the zone. But even then, it is impossible to predict where, or if, the tiger will appear. I have written about this experience of meeting a tiger in the forests of Central & South India and you can read about them below.

Pench National Park

Pench National Park, nestled in the heart of India in the lower southern reaches of the Satpura hills, sprawls a massive 758 km² across the states of Madhya Pradesh & Maharashtra. In Madhya Pradesh it is located in the districts of Seoni and Chhindwara. Named after the pristine River Pench it was immortalised by Rudyard Kipling in his Jungle Book. Every year millions make their way here to spot Akela (the Indian Wolf), Baloo (the Sloth Bear), Bagheera (the Black Panther) and Shere Khan (the Royal Bengal Tiger). It was declared a sanctuary in 1965 and elevated to the status of national park in 1975 and enlisted as a tiger reserve in 1992.

Pench has a glorious history of natural wealth and unique cultural richness described in several classics ranging from the Ain-e-Akbari to the Jungle Book. Several natural history books like Strendale’s “Seonee - Camplife in the Satpuras” & Forsyth’s “Highlands of Central India” present a detailed panorama of these forests. 

The forest, lush and green in the monsoon, also harbours a wide range of faunal species some of which figure prominently in the IUCN Red List. Our story, however, revolves around two young male tigers who have made their home in the small hills and well-stocked teak mixed forest of Rukhad. Slated as the buffer zone and a part of the Pench-Kanha and Pench-Satpura Corridors, Rukhad used to be the hunting grounds of the British. With Granite & Gneiss as the main rock types, the area is filled with unique habitats like Snags, Nesting sites, Cliffs, Overhangs, Talus, Dens, Caves and natural salt licks - prime tiger habitat. 

The park also was the location used by the BBC for the innovative wildlife series Tiger: Spy in the Jungle, a three-part documentary narrated by Sir David Attenborough which used concealed cameras, placed by elephants, in order to capture intimate tiger behaviour and also retrieved footage of various other fauna in the reserve. The programme aired for the first time in March 2008 and ended a month later.

Like all other forests in India tigers coexist with other predators such as leopards, Asiatic wild dogs, brown bears and wolves throughout most of their range. Usually there is little interaction between species especially since tigers are mostly nocturnal (active at night) and the other species are mainly diurnal (active during the day).

My grateful thanks to my companions - Ismail, Asad, Rahi & Golu - for bearing with me and my excesses. This would not have been possible without their help and incredible skills.

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The Bengal Tiger

The Bengal tiger ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today and is considered to belong to the world’s charismatic megafauna. It comes from the specific population of the Panthera tigris tigris subspecies that is native to the Indian subcontinent. It has been and still is threatened by poaching, loss and fragmentation of habitat, and was estimated at comprising fewer than 2,500 wild individuals in 2011. Today that number has grown considerably thanks to many awareness programs and initiatives by the central and state governments and the forest department.

The tiger is estimated to be present in the Indian subcontinent since the late Pleistocene, for about 12,000 to 16,500 years.

Hair & Colouration

The Bengal tiger's coat is yellow to light orange, with stripes ranging from dark brown to black; the belly and the interior parts of the limbs are white, and the tail is orange with black rings. This distinct coat provides camouflage, warmth and protection from cold. There are two types of hairs on the body of tigers – guard hairs and underfur. The former is longer and more durable than the underfur and mainly acts as a protective cover. The primary function of these is to provide warmth in the colder seasons. The underfur traps air which insulates the tiger’s body thereby keeping it warm. Grooming is an important part of a tiger’s day. They use their rasping tongue to remove loose hair and dirt from their fur. The grooming process keeps the tiger’s coat in good condition by using their tongue to spread oils secreted from their glands.

Probably the most easily recognized of all wild cats, tigers are the only large cats to have distinctive striping located on both the hair and the skin. Their fur ranges from orange to brownish yellow with a white chest and the belly is covered with broken vertical black/dark brown stripes. Males of all the sub-species exhibit longer fur in the form of ‘ruff’ around the back of the head. This is especially pronounced in the Sumatran males.

Many tigers possess stripes on their face, sides, legs and stomach. The striping is varied in width, length, whether they are single or double-looped, coloration from a light brown to dark black and are not symmetrical from one side of the tiger to the other. The stripe pattern on top of the animal’s head resembles the Chinese character of “wang” which means “king.” Many tigers possess light yellow-orange to deep reddish-orange background coloration.

Tigers have distinctive white circular spots on the backside of their ears. There are two ideas as to the function of these eye-spots. One of which is that they function as “false eyes”; making the tiger seem bigger and watchful to a potential predator attacking from the rear. The other idea is that they play a role in aggressive communication because when threatened tigers may twist their ears around so that the backs face forward. This prominently displays the distinctive white markings. The function of the white markings is probably a combination of both ideas.

Tigers have much less rigid climate needs, but they have special attraction for water that is why they are never away from the water source. When both lions and tigers were widespread in Asia, perhaps, the tigers’ liking for water may have kept them out of more arid areas favoured by lions. They are strong swimmers with a love for bathing in pools and lakes in summers in hotter climes, tigers are adapted to most types of forests and grasslands broken by woods, swamp margins beyond woodland areas and they are seldom found in wide-open country. Basically, they are nocturnal hunters; however, in protected areas – away from human intervention – they are often active during the day. Their striped coat blends well into sun-dappled vegetation.

They usually frequent water holes at dusk and dawn – the time when most animals come there to quench their thirst. Although the habitat dictates the type of animal that the tiger would hunt, it has special liking for larger prey species, such as sambhar, gaur, chital, wild boar and monkeys. Occasionally they go even for fish and various other small mammals if food is scarce.

Territory and Communication

The size of tiger territory varies greatly by prey density, locality and season. In areas where prey is in abundance the territories tend to be smaller in size. For male tigers in tiger reserves like Tadoba & Ranthambhore the prey concentrations are high and male tigers have territories that range in size from 5 to 150 sq km. Contrastingly, in Siberia the prey concentrations are much lower and male tiger territories range in size from 800 to 1200 sq km. Seasonality in terms of prey migrations, food availability and weather also affect prey populations and therefore the size of tiger territories.

A male tigers territory usually encompasses that of more than one female and is aggressively protected against intrusion from other males. The larger area contains more than enough food, water and shelter and also accommodates more females. Therefore, females are the most coveted resource for males. Tigresses’ territories are smaller than that of the males but focus on vital resources required for rearing young. Tigresses usually occupy territories adjacent to or take over parts of their mother’s territory.

Tigers assert and maintain their control over their territories by continuously patrolling them, but this is not the only method to guard such a vast area. They have devised very powerful and silent communication systems to convey their presence, movement and territorial claim. Spray-marking is one such method in which tiger, male or female, while walking turns its hindquarters towards a tree, bush, or a big stone or pole and with vertically raised tail will shoot out spray of fluid. This strong musky smelling fluid is a mixture of urine and a secretion from the anal glands.

The following photos were taken at different times of the day and illustrate the act of spray-marking.

This scent serves many purposes. Besides discouraging weaker males it also encourages sprightly young tigers to take on the resident male in a bid to usurp the territory. Stray cubs have been known to search out their mother by her spray-markings. Males can pinpoint a tigress ready to mate. Fresh markings can indicate a dangerous encounter between males while the old ones are signal that one can go ahead, but with care. It is observed that any passing tiger will always sniff the spray-markings of an earlier animal and will invariably re-spray it, perhaps to assert his/her claim on the area.

Faeces along with raked marks, scratching on trees and clawing are some other tools of communication. All these activities, including spray-marking, are found with higher frequency and intensity usually on the animal paths, nullahs, streams, specific trees, poles and stones etc. Perhaps the reason is such paths and belts act as natural boundaries, demarcating areas and ranges, especially for resident males.

Both these behaviours can be seen in the photo & video below.

Another means of communication is their roar which is blood-chilling for humans and other animals alike, but for tigers it is a voice of a male asserting his territorial right. It is a long distance communication among jungle cats and definitely has greater intensity and regularity when the animals are asserting themselves.

“One can hear a tiger roar from over a mile away!”

Listen to the jungle announcing the approach of a tiger and finally the tiger himself making it clear who the king is.

Visual, Scent & Touch

Tigers use their tails, which can be about a meter long, to communicate with one another. A tiger is relaxed if their tail is loosely hanging. Aggression is displayed by rapidly moving the tail from side to side or by holding it low with occasional intense twitches. Tigers may enhance their olfactory communication by using visual markings such as scrapes on the ground and trees.

Adult males and females both communicate to one another by marking their territories. An adult tiger will usually define the boundary of its territory by spraying urine because of the strong odour associated with it can last up to two months but they may also use faeces for marking. Smell is also a very accurate indicator to other tigers of how recently a tiger has passed, and whether or not the territory is occupied.

All cats, including tigers, have a distinct scent associated with them due to their individualised scent glands. This scent helps cubs track their mother’s path and serves to identify particular individuals. Cats have scent glands between their toes, tail, anus, head, chin, lips, cheeks, and facial whiskers. The animal’s intention is to leave its own distinct scent to communicate with other animals of its species and mark its territory. The scientific community is currently trying to train dogs to detect some individualised tiger scents to assist with the estimation of wild tiger populations.

Like all cats tigers too have a well-developed sense of touch, which they use for many purposes including navigation in darkness, detect danger and attack prey. They have five different types of vibrissae, commonly known whiskers, which detect sensory information and are differentiated by their location on the body. Whiskers differ from guard hairs in the sense that they are thicker, more deeply rooted in the skin and surrounded by a small capsule of blood. The root of whisker displaces the blood when it comes in contact with something, thereby amplifying the movement. Sensory nerves detect this movement and send signals to the brain for interpretation. Whiskers are so acutely sensitive that if they move five nanometers (a distance 2000 times less than the width of a human hair) its sensory nerve sends a signal to the brain.

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The Kingfisher & the Kuraigarh Males

Pench Tiger Reserve was a lesser-known destination for tiger tourism when compared to tiger centric parks like Bandhavgarh, Ranthambore, and Kanha. It shot into the limelight after the BBC‘s documentary wildlife series Tiger: Spy in the Jungle, a three-part documentary narrated by Sir David Attenborough which was shot between 2005-2007 and aired in 2008. The documentary featured Bari Mada and her four cubs as she reared them, over two years. Attenborough described it as “the most intimate portrait of tigers ever”. One of those four cubs was Collarwali - so called because of the radio collar she wore.

The park made the headlines again in 2011 because the by then living legend Collarwali (T15) gave birth to her 5 cubs. Pench is a well-managed park and the conservation efforts of the Forest Department has shown definite positive changes in the wild.

Now onto our two males starting with the “outsider”.

The Kingfisher Male

The Kingfisher male I am told is an outsider from Kanha. He is about 5/6 years old and in prime form. There was a Kingfisher male in Kanha between 2010 and 2016 but last I know he had died in territorial fights in 2016. The story goes - there were four males in their prime in Kanha prowling the Mukki zone - the Umarpani male, Bheema, Link 7 also known as Chotta Munna and the Kingfisher male also known as Rajaram. Over 30 months these four had numerous territorial tussles and It was expected in 2014 that a fatal fight was around the corner. But all the males, despite their differences, had begun to give space to each other. Their intensity and frequency of fights had reduced over the prior year. It was assumed that peace had finally begun to make inroads and all four would survive but who knew it was only the calm before the storm. The inevitable finally came to pass and the Kingfisher’s body was found in the Mukki zone on the morning of October 28th 2016. Apparently, there were injury signs on his neck and shoulders leading to the conclusion that it was, in all likelihood, a territorial fight. No other cause could have been probable as his body was found in the heart of the tourism zone, monitored well by the forest guards not to mention the tourists too.

In all likelihood it was the Umarpani male who brought about the Kingfishers demise. Chota Munna had been sighted immediately after with no injuries & Bheema had been weak and frail in the days preceding the fight albeit he had the power to overpower the Kingfisher. The Umarpani male had fought and outmatched the Kingfisher in most of their recent encounters and also had the advantage of size, strength & stealth.

The original Kingfisher from the Neela Nullah litter, at 6 years, was a very handsome male in his peak. Obviously our Kingfisher is not the same Kingfisher but because of his markings, size and the way he carries himself, and this is speculation, it is assumed that he is the son of the original Kingfisher. This is one of those times I wish I knew a tiger historian.

The Kingfisher now patrols the Rukhad area.

The Kuraigarh Male

The Kuraigarh male on the other hand has excellent lineage. He is descended from the illustrious Badi Mada & most likely Charger - and is the son of their equally famous daughter Langdi (T20) (from their 2009 litter) and a brother to the handsome Kathiya who is now seen in the Khursapar area. Langdi - the name means one with a limp - was born with a twisted right font paw, is one of the most successful breeding females from Pench second only to Collarwali who had an eye-popping 7 litters and 26 cubs of which 24 have survived I think.

Interesting how they disperse. Langdi took as her territory the southern west of Kalapahad, covering two major waterholes Junewani and Bijjamatta. In 2018-19, she had 4 cubs of which three were males and one female. All four successfully reached adulthood and left her. In 2019-20 she was photographed with her 3 cubs chasing a Chital stag. Kathiya now patrols the Khursapar area while the Kuraigarh male has made his home in Rukhad with the Kingfisher and two more males - the huge Sambhaji and another male.

The name Kuraigarh comes from the rocky plateau, a very steep 200 metre grade, which at some point in the past had a fort. In India a fort is always built in the least accessible and highest point of a region. Here too the plateau here is perfect but unfortunately there is no longer a fort. There are no ruins barring an arrangement of stones circling the rocky plateau at some distance. I am told this is all that remains of the fort. Given that Seoni, Kurai and the surrounding region is tribal land these must have been very small forts and not to be compared with the magnificent forts of Rajputana. Nevertheless, the site is exciting. There is dense forest cover all around and in the valley and hills. Only in the far distance can we vaguely see what might be the settlement of Kurai village.

This then is the setting for what might go on to be a major drama where four males battle it out for supremacy.

Photographing a tiger at night & during monsoon

It was, is and always will be a memorable experience of watching a tiger after the sun set. This time around it was the monsoon and we had been tracking the Kuraigarh male for well over 30 mins now and he had obliged most of the time by sticking to the track. Every now and then he would meander off into the brush to smell and mark his supremacy but eventually he’d come back to the track and make his way down to us.

By the time we’d seen him it had already been pouring heavily for an hour and it was getting dark very quickly. When he finally decided to call quits on his walkabout it was almost complete dark and we could barely see him leave alone photograph. But thankfully modern cameras see much more than the human eye can see and these are some of the photos and the ending clips of my video which were recorded during these final moments with the huge Kuraigarh male.

He came to what I can only identify as a roundabout in human terms but in his mind. Starting on the left he smelled, marked and rolled around on the grass leaving a good scent and then crossed over to the right to do the same. He was here for a good 10-15 mins and then finally made his way back into the brush disappearing from view. It was completely dark now and we decided to make our way back out and come back in as the night safari. The following are some of the photos from the right as he was clearly visible from where I was. The view on the left can be seen in my video where he rubs himself on the ground before getting up and leaving. Note by this time it was almost completely dark and both the photos and video were taken at ungodly ISOs to get the speeds required to freeze motion.

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I will close with this final image I made in 2012, the pug mark of an adolescent tiger on top of our jeep tracks - a realisation that hit me like a ton of bricks the morning after our night safari at Pench - while we were tracking the tiger, the tiger was stalking us.

While out on what turned into a dry night safari - if I discount the fact that we were almost charged by a 1 ton Gaur and the jungle cats we saw - we met a forest ranger on his way to one of the checkpoints. We had barely started back on our way after a brief exchange of notes when he called us back. Unfortunately our guide either misunderstood or didn’t realise what he said and we continued on our way out of the park. Early the next day when we met the ranger again he said a few minutes after passing us he came up on a tiger in the middle of the track.

Reiterates what I’ve mentioned earlier - whether we see the tiger or not, the tiger has definitely seen us. We must have driven past the tiger in the darkness and he/she would have stepped out immediately after us only to be seen by the ranger, a few minutes later, heading the opposite way. The ranger had called us back to ask us to turn around but alas it was lost in translation.

No harm done, there will be another day or night and another tiger in another forest sometime soon.

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