Royal bloodline of Tadoba

Panthera tigris tigris

ENDANGERED

Adegaon-Dewada, Tadoba Andhari National Park

We continue our sojourn in the enchanted land of Taru (so named for the legendary Gond chieftain who valiantly fought with a tiger), a familiarly romantic setting in the Central Deccan Plateau. With lustrous light in the open spaces seemingly undistllled from heaven to earth appearing to be a laser show at times as gem clear beams filter through the canopy. The warmth of it settles over our faces like a silken mask and life is a golden joy. That is the thing about the seraph-light of this jungle; it can sweep down like the handloom of the gods one moment, pure and clear and long of line. The jungle greets you with a fairy charm in winter with fog rolling over its hills and the sun playing hide and seek. 

This tropical and subtropical dry-broadleaf and dry-deciduous forest of Tadoba is a realm of savage yet legendary tigers. With its rich prey density and perennial and abundant water supply Tadoba has been a war-torn landscape. Elsewhere, like Bandhavgarh & Pench, a dominant tiger could rule for multiple years, sometimes even a decade, but here in Tadoba the reign of a tiger has been relatively short; thanks to the strength of the dominant males, each in a league of its own. But more often than any other forest across the Indian landscape, there is an unusual influx of dominant tigers, year after year, each proclaiming their prowess like gladiators in the arena; but the ousted kings do not just give up, not before launching a volley of conquests in a ferocious do-or-die struggle for supremacy. 

In the beginning, these pristine jungles were ruled by a few – the old Katezhari male (T-43), Sultan, the Hilltop male, the W-male/ Vasant Bhandara male, Gabbar (T-42) & Shivaji (T-40). Indomitable and ruling for many years, they were responsible for the promulgation of today’s tigers, before they aged and their fiefdoms usurped. These tigers were ruthless and fearsome; they did not share territories; no upstart tiger was spared; opponents were decimated in fierce battles, intruders were driven away or killed, females were forced and shared within themselves, and any cubs not their own were killed. These tigers – Tyson (probable son of the old Katezhari male), Saturn/ Namdev (T-47) & Gabbar (T-42) ruled the prime Tadoba lake area. Yeda Anna (T-39) (probable son of Sultan) & Wagdoh (T-38) ruled the lush Moharli range, the Kakarghat male (T-36 - probable son of Shivaji) & Gangaram ruled the Kolsa range and buffers, Narasimha (T-65) & Bobadiya ruled the Navegaon range and buffers. They remained arch enemies till their rout or exile.

The throne was ascended by males from different clans and families, but the queens always were of the same matriarchal line spawned by a tigress known as Jhari female. Nothing much is known about Jhari as this was early 2000s and not many enthusiasts visited the park then. It is said that her daughter Vasanti/ the Vasant Bhandara female reigned over a vast territory from Vasant Bhandara in the South to Katezhari in West and as deep as Pandharpauni lake area in the North. She was also known as the lady of lakes (a moniker borrowed from the famous tigress, Machli of Ranthambore) and even went by the name Katrina. At the time Tadoba was ruled by four kings - Yeda Anna ruling the southern area of the park from Khatoda and Cheechghat to Moharli, the Old Katezhari aka Boom male ruling the Western part, the Hilltop male & W-male/ Vasant Bhandara male ruling central Tadoba and the Northern areas with a substantial overlap.

Our female today - the W-female (T-155) - traces her lineage back to these illustrious tigers through the generations. We saw her daintily stepping out from the brush directly in front of us about a kilometre north of the ancient step well of Adegaon almost halfway to the Adegaon-Dewada-Agarzari Gate.

To trace W-mark’s royal bloodline we need to go back in time to around 2005-06.

The first link: Yeda Anna & Lakshmi

At the time, in Tadoba, there rose to power a tiger called Yeda Anna (T-39). Also known as Crooked Tail, the name Yeda Anna was homage to Bollywood movie character given his temper. Arriving on the scene around 2005-06, well before Tadoba appeared on the tiger map, he was said to be the son of the legendary Sultan of the Moharli range. Sultan was the nucleus for most of the tigers of this range; possibly the father of Wagdoh/ Scarface (T-38). Yeda Anna controlled a sizeable portion of the Moharli Range and reigned over atleast 4 tigresses. Yeda Anna is considered the nucleus for the circuit line and devdoh line of tigers. Truly established in his territory Yeda Anna mated with Saturn/ Namdev’s erstwhile mate Lakshmi aka Tara and gave Tadoba Madhuri (T-10) - the second link in our chain. If popular tigresses like Maya (T-12), Choti Tara (T-07) and Sonam (T-30) are the face of the core of the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, Madhuri is no less an Empress of the buffer zone and the super mom of Tadoba having delivered 19 cubs since 2010. 

The second link: Wagdoh & Madhuri

By the end of 2010, the dominance of Yeda Anna at the Moharli range was over when he was challenged by the mighty Wagdoh (T-38) and well and truly routed. Wagdoh, one of the biggest tigers in the country and some say even South Asia, then went on to be the sovereign ruler killing Madhuri’s cubs from Yeda Anna. He ruled over the territory beyond the southernmost tip of the core area - the area is now known as Wagdoh area in his honour. Our tigress today continues her lineage from Madhuri’s second litter, of four cubs sired by the mighty Wagdoh in 2011 - Sonam (T-30), Lara (T-19), Geeta & Mona - who attained fame as the Telia Sisters. By the end of 2013, Madhuri, the then reigning queen was ousted along with the other Telia Sisters - Lara, Geeta & Mona - by her aggressive and ambitious daughter, the S-mark female/ Sonam as she is also fondly known. Madhuri had herself taken over this same territory from her mother Lakshmi, in a similar fashion, a few years prior. Madhuri then moved further south, and her loyal mate Wagdoh followed suit, voluntarily abandoning the lush and prey-rich territory. And this is where the third link in the chain steps in. 

Before I get to the third link I will deviate slightly - because the timelines coincide - to talk about another legend in the making in a different part of the park.

This was also the time, around 2012, when Maya became a part of the Tadoba story albeit on a different tangent. In the early 2000s, Jhari, the original matriarch and Queen mother of Tadoba gave birth to Vasanti or the Vasant Bhandara female, fathered by the Boom male/ old Katezhari male/ old Bhanushkindi male. In late 2004, Vasanti gave birth to two cubs - Sin and Nira (or Bala). Sin went missing after reaching sub-adulthood while Nira went on to become the Pandharpauni tigress or the Lady of the Lakes. Vasanti also sired another famous tigress, the Katezhari female or Malika, possibly from the Katezhari male aka Tyson or Yeda Anna. Nira, named for the spear mark on her left flank, ruled the lakes like her mother and sired many litters with the Hilltop male, one of the most dominant tigers at the time. Unfortunately in late 2012, whilst pregnant with her fourth litter, Nira succumbed to snake bite (allegedly) leaving the future of her four cubs in jeopardy. Maya was the second in a four cub litter - P1 (Lata), P2 (Maya), P3 (Chaya) and P4 (Pandu) - born during the monsoons of 2010, sired by Nira and the Hilltop male; their third litter. The cubs weren’t old enough to hunt for themselves but with the grace of Mother Nature all the cubs managed to beat the odds and survive. At the time no one could have predicted that the young tigress P2 or ‘Maya’ as she came to be known, would etch her name into legend and become one of the world's most documented big cats.

Read about my close encounter with the Enchantress of Tadoba.

A quick note for the question on everyone’s mind - is Maya alive? This information is as of the first week of December 2023. 

1. Maya, at of date, is about 13 years old. The average lifespan of a tiger in the wild is 12 to 14 years. It is possible she is gone but that said… 

2. The territory she occupied is a very high density area when it comes to tigers and there was a time when almost 10 tigers were trying to mate with her. And, unfortunately, in all the chaos she has been unable to protect her last 2/3 litters which could have left her traumatised and induced a change in her behaviour.

3. What I understand, from my conversations with the locals and authorities, is that she seems to be carrying again. And maybe, in an effort to keep her upcoming litter safe, she’s moved out of her familiar haunts into somewhere safer where there isn’t a crowd - both tourists and tigers.

4. Tadoba is 625 km² of Core and 1100 km² of buffer making it a gigantic 1700 km² of jungle and to search for one tiger in this rugged terrain is practically impossible.

5. Every year in March the department conducts a detail intensive survey across the region with extensive camera trapping done and foot patrols conducted to canvas the entire forest. So my guess is this is when we will probably have something conclusive unless she shows up earlier on her own. If this search and canvassing is performed now it will disturb the entire area and all wildlife in it not to mention the time intensive effort and extensive manpower it will require - it does not make sense.

6. A recent very similar instance was the tiger from the Brahmapuri range which showed up after a few months in Odisha. For those few months in the interim no one knew where he was. The difference here is the degree of popularity between the two animals. 

7. Therefore I doubt the forest department will make any conclusive announcement about her now as it will be premature. The bones found could not be conclusively identified I am told. So please ignore any wild speculations that are circulating on social media and also refrain from spreading any.

Now onto the next link.

The third link: Bajrang & Lara

By 2014/ 15, the throne of Moharli was empty, and this was when Bajrang (T-44) - of unknown ancestry - made his appearance. Robustly built, with muscle heavy shoulders, forelimbs and a sinewy skull, Bajrang was the true epitome of the phrase ‘built-like-a-tank’. Also the name Bajrang is an epithet for the immortal Hindu god, Hanuman, and is derived from the word ‘vajra’ the celestial weapon of Indra. He seemed to have come from the Kolara buffer area and in an attempt to eke out his territory he started visiting Pandharpauni and the surrounding areas. But this was well before Bajrang reached his true form and also coincided with a period of intense drama!

Bajrang was first seen in the summer of 2014 at the Pandharpauni-2 waterhole of the Tadoba range. Three dominant males – Saturn (Namdev), Gabbar (Leopard-face) and Tyson (Katezhari male) had turned the Pandharpauni waterholes and adjoining territory into a bloody battlefield. A young Bajrang couldn’t carve out his piece and prudently retreated to the Moharli range, southwards. He was known then as Bajirao and it was only much later that the name Bajrang caught fancy. Coming into the Moharli range, his advent coincided with the departure of Wagdoh, the supreme ruler at the time. By the end of 2013, Madhuri, the reigning queen was ousted by her daughter, Sonam and moved further south into the buffer, followed shortly thereafter by her loyal mate Wagdoh, voluntarily abandoning the lush and prey-rich territory, and writing their love story into the annals of Tadoba’s history. 

With no tiger to challenge him, Bajrang went on to carve one of the biggest territories spanning across the Moharli range, the Junona buffer to the south-east and even the Kolara buffer to the north-east and in the process took many queens - about 7-8 females - more than any other tiger in these parts. He sired many litters with them, probably more than 30 tigers. His queen consorts included illustrious names like Sonam, Lara, Mona of Telia Sisters fame, Pakhi (the new Wagdoh female), Devdoh 1, R-mark/ Devdoh new female (daughter of Devdoh 1 and Bajrang), the Kolara buffer tigress & Choti Tara when she ventured into the fringes of his territory. This made Bajrang the sovereign ruler of 8 tigresses and their territories; perhaps the biggest of any tiger from Tadoba, ever, and perhaps the largest number of consorts at a single time, by any tiger, ever! Such was his ruthless dominance that the domain he alone ruled once, is now ruled by more than 6 males - Taru (T-185), Paras (T-143), Chota Dhadiyal, Pachees-bawan (25-52), Shambu and Sanju. 

Bajrang had an indomitable reign till the end of 2020, having already sired over 40 cubs, when he was challenged by a sudden influx of younger males. The young upstarts like Tala at the Telia lake, Taru in the Agarzari range, Ambeutara & Paras in Dewada, Chota Dhadiyal in the Moharli range all challenged him at different times. The frequency and fervour of such attacks on an ageing king took their toll and he finally abdicated around 2022. He became what is called a “floater” male - a tiger without a territory - moving first from Telia to the Jamni Lake area, then to Panchadhara and into the Kolara - Alizanja Buffer finally making his way into the Navegaon-Nimdhela area. Chota Matka, the dominant tiger of Alizanja zone, got the best of an ageing Bajrang on 14th November 2023. A badly mauled Bajrang seemed to have died instantly in the skirmish.

Bajrang sired 49 cubs in total, the most coming from Sonam and Lara, his two beloved consorts. Of late, Sonam is being challenged by Zara (Lara’s daughter from her 2ⁿᵈ litter) and Lara in turn has been challenged by Roohi (Sonam’s daughter from her 3ʳᵈ litter); both sired by Bajrang. The W-mark female or T-155 - our focus today - is Lara’s daughter with Bajrang from their 1ˢᵗ litter in 2016.

With that said the Tadoba landscape today has other tigresses carrying forth the royal bloodlines and establishing their territories like Collarwali (T-163 - Lara’s daughter from her 2ⁿᵈ litter in 2018) and Bela (T-179 - Choti Madhu’s daughter from her 1ˢᵗ litter in 2019). Whilst on the male-front, Chota Bajrang (aka Pratap – Kori’s son from her last litter in 2019) and Xylo (T-178 - Choti Madhu’s son from her 1ˢᵗ litter in 2019) have also established their territories. So, Bajrang and his illustrious bloodline will continue to dominate the reserve, just like that of Yeda Anna, Matkasur and Wagdoh.

An interesting fact to note here is that during his long reign of 8 years, Bajrang courted with atleast 9 tigresses, and sired many male and female cubs. But not once did he mate with any of his female cubs, a unique scenario which surmises an important verity in natural selection – how tigers avoid inbreeding. Mate selection, as it appears, in tigers (or many animals) is not random.

I am told tigresses are very choosy about their mates, especially because a dominant tiger with a stable reign can provide protection to the tigress and cubs from intruding males. Tigresses choose (if not forced by a male) mates based on parameters like consistency and frequency of scent marking etc., thus assessing the dominance and territorial presence of a male. Tigresses are induced ovulators and so, multiple acts of mating alone can induce ovulation. And a tigress must be in oestrus as well for ovulation to occur. It is generally assumed as mock or pseudo-mating, but the tigress has no control over her hormones or the oestrus cycle. A one-off copulation might not induce pregnancy. A dominant (or a pursuant) male on the other hand would pursue the female for several days, mating with her umpteen times to successfully induce ovulation.

Natural and sexual selection also favour certain mating partners over others – mostly to avoid inbreeding depression. Inbreeding refers to the mating of closely (genetically) related individuals which increases the scope of deleterious gene expression in the offspring, causing defects such as infertility, compromised immunity, defective organs etc. Inbreeding, in tigers, is avoided to benefit the fitness of the future population and it could happen via a combination of mechanisms such as male dispersal, kin recognition and avoidance, and delayed maturation. Here in Tadoba inbreeding does not appear to be a problem as the male to female ratio is pretty good and the diversity in the lineages dominating the various ranges is also excellent. 

Tiger cubs begin to live independently by around 20-24 months of age. The mother goes into oestrus and will be receptive to mating. At this time either the mother or the father will evict the cubs. Also It is a fact that male tigers move away from their natal (birth) area - called dispersal - while the female tigers generally tend to stay in their natal area - called philopatry. In addition to avoiding inbreeding depression female philopatry and male dispersal benefit the population by reducing transmission of genetic and other diseases, competition for resources etc. The male cubs begin to disperse from the mother’s territory by the age of two attaining sexual maturity by the age of four – delayed maturation. By this age, the male cubs are physically smaller and are not equipped to challenge an adult territorial tiger (for ex., the father). Additionally, fathers in polygynous systems will evict sons with the potential to oust them, as per the Oedipus hypothesis. This nullifies the possibility of a son mating with the mother or the sibling (sister).

The female cubs carve a territory from that of the mother (especially because both are morphologically similar, at the time of separation), partially or wholly; they attain sexual maturity by the age of three. We have seen this last week in the case of Bijli and Choti Madhu. Because the territory of the father still encompasses that of his mate and daughter, there is a possibility of the father mating with the daughter. But it almost never happens; and is the most intriguing part. He might continue his polygynous relationship, with other (unrelated) tigresses, though.

To take over a territory from a dominant tiger, the intruding or challenging male generally should be reaching his prime; though older dominant tigers might relinquish territories to much younger ones as we have seen in the case of Wagdoh and Bajrang - more fortuitous than induced. A male tiger reaches sexual maturity by the age of 4 and it would probably take another 2/ 3 years to reach an age where he can dominate, when he could challenge a reigning king. If he overthrows the king, and mates with the queen, his daughter would reach sexual maturity at 3 years, which would mean his age would be around 8-10 years. A second litter would even slim down the chances of father mating with the daughter, as the father moves beyond his prime age.

Avoiding inbreeding comes at opportunity costs i.e., limits the numbers of potential mates. There are cases of dominant male tigers that rule for many years, and there are cases of young tigers taking over territories. So, will a father mate with the daughter, in this scenario? Though not quantifiable, there are far less cases that speak in favour.

Despite ruling for a long period, Bajrang never mated with any of his daughters. In fact, he even tolerated his own subadult sons (viz., Rocket) akin to Wagdoh. The extent of his territory was so vast and his mates were so large in number that there was almost no local competition for resources and breeding opportunities and thus the need to find unrelated partners, possibly. By early 2023, beyond his prime, Bajrang still seemed to have some fight left, but his glory days were never to be reinstated. Towards the end of his life, he became a wandering tiger without a territory.

Just over a month back on November 14, 2023, after an indomitable reign of more than 7 years, the 13 year old Bajrang was killed in an intense territorial conflict with Chota Matka - the powerful son of Matkasur & Choti Tara and the dominant tiger of the Alizanja zone. The fight took place in the Wahangaon hamlet in the Chimur forest area. Bajrang was discovered badly mauled in an agricultural field in the buffer zone of the Navegaon-Nimdhela range. He seemed to have died instantly in the skirmish. 

Bajrang wasn’t a warrior or a fighter, he didn’t wage wars with other tigers, but he was no less a king. He could bring down the formidable Gaur. He conquered a massive territory - the largest ever by any tiger at Tadoba. He had the most consorts and provided a stable rule for a very long period, vouching for the safety of his cubs as a doting father and in the process also taught us many lessons about tigers and their behaviour. His legacy lives on through his cubs. 

A Final Question - Why is she called the W-mark?

Each tiger has a pattern of stripes and facial markings unique to itself and individuals can thus be identified. Such identifications by visual or photographic confirmation are usually employed in long term behavioural studies in a given area to great advantage. These distinct facial markings appear on the face on their forehead, cheekbones and under their eyes. For example Sonam (T-30) was identified by the unique “S” mark on her right cheek and not so far away, in the hills of Tipai Mata, the Meadow queen of Maregaon or the 4 Mark tigress, daughter of the Pilkhan female and the powerful Budha male, can be easily identified by the huge “4“ beside her right eye.

But the tiger's partiality to cover, its nocturnal habits, unpredictable movements and generally secretive behaviour do not allow for repeated sightings. The standard and a more practical method is to identify individuals by their pugmarks - a method capable of near mathematical accuracy. Features in a pugmark, e.g the shape and relative size of the right, left or bottom lobe of the pad, the top edge of the pad, the relative sizes and placings of the toes with respect to the pad and several other features vary from tiger to tiger. An individual can be identified from a study of a combination of these features unique to itself, from frequent tracings of pugmarks recorded in the field. 

So in our case we will adopt the pattern of stripes unique to the W-mark female and the photo below illustrates the distinct “W“ mark over her right eye.

This was not my first visit to Tadoba and neither will it be the last. Read about my other intimate encounters with tigers including those from Tadoba.

Thanks to Himanshu Bagde and his team of guides and drivers, our experience in chilly November 2023, in the Dewada - Adegaon - Agarzari Range was nothing short of spectacular. All our safaris, bar one into Moharli, were in the Adegaon-Dewada Range and were exceptionally well handled by Viraj Raut and Dheeraj Katkar. The Adegaon-Dewada Buffer range is teeming with wild boar, sambhar and chital and is prime hunting ground for the numerous tigers who have made it their home. Six vehicles are allowed each morning and evening for the safari from this gate. In one of the hardy gypsies, we made our way into the jungle and the farther we ventured, the wilder it got and more animals and birds came out of their roosts to start their day after the night’s rest. Dominated by the dense clumps of Bamboo, Teakwood, Crocodile Bark (ain) and Coromandel Ebony (tendu) trees, interspersed with Vetiver (khus) grasses, the vegetation of Tadoba is of a diverse blend of tropical and subtropical dry-broadleaf and dry-deciduous trees and thus a motley mix of charms even in the driest of the seasons.

These forests have been home to some of the biggest tigers, the largest number of tigers born every year and also the highest number of human-tiger conflicts. These prime territories are encircled by many ranges, each with its unique habitat supporting a different prey-base on which tigers subsist, and only the best of the tigers ruling these territories pass on their genes, a fabulous example of Darwins natural selection is always happening at Tadoba.

In most parts of India, Chital and Sambhar are the most preferred prey. The chital tip the scales at 60-70 kgs while the sambhar at 300-400 kgs; therefore, a sambhar can serve up a few good meals and is usually preferred by tigers and especially more so by tigresses with cubs. But these deer prefer grasslands to dense forests, which are generally not frequently seen in a setting like Tadoba. As an outcome of this, in the Kolsa range to the south-east of Tadoba, the tigresses, who generally weigh around 120-140 Kgs, have adapted to hunt the formidable Indian Gaur. A gaur could weigh up to 1500 kgs and can last, even for a family of five, many days.

This then was the backdrop we drove into and this time the jungle welcomed us with open arms showing us, from close proximity, the amazing wildlife and apex predators it shelters and nourishes. I wrote about our experience with the C2 male last week and this week it is the W-mark female. 

The gear used:

• Canon 1Dx Mark ii wearing the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II

Find all the gear I use in my Kit Bag.

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