Tigers, trials, and triumphs

Packing List:

  1. Tank Top
  2. Tank Top
  3. Tank Top
  4. Tank Top
  5. Cooling T-Shirt
  6. Shorts
  7. Shorts
  8. Yoga Pants

I was determined to not feel 1 drop of sweat during our tiger tour. I’m almost as bad as my dad when it comes to dealing with hot/cold weather, but I was prepared for our expedition. I must admit, I was one of the “skip India” voters, but I regret that decision now and am enjoying every second of it. I even enjoyed the 3 1/2 hour drive from the airport to the tiger town. But, I wasn’t prepared for the disappointment the first couple days would give me. When we arrived I was filled to the brim with excitement, faith, and maybe a little hope. They had so many pictures, art, and stories to share that I couldn’t help but imagine how many tigers they saw. So on our first game drive, I tried to dim my confidence in seeing the tigers, but my faith, hope, and excitement won over. So my disappointment was the same (or maybe more) than our bad luck with the leopards. The only thing that the first game drive sparked was my annoyance for the mandatory guide that had to ride along with us. They really just tell you that camping out by a water hole is stupid and they take up 1/5 of your space in the vehicle.

The second game drive wasn’t much better. Our guide was nicer, but was a serious birder. He could tell us what species a bird was from across a river, lake, or gorge. He knew his stuff, but the only bird I’m interested in is the vulture. Our third game drive really brought me down. We had a nice guide who tried to get to know us, but already finishing 60% of our game drives with only an old tiger footprint to show for it diminished almost all hopes. But hope was somewhat replenished when we got good news at dinner. The people that own the place where we were staying switched our permits to another zone in the park that had MANY recent tiger sightings.  I was happy and faithful of our odds, but my hope was still a little extinguished. As we were driving to the new part of the park I was practically biting my nails in anticipation. Soon after we arrived, we found a group of cars and they said that two tigers came through and left into the trees soon after. I think I did a 5 minute internal groan at this point. We took a lap around the small area and arrived back at the same spot we started. A few cars still remained and told us that one tiger had come back in sight. I think I held my breath through all of the reckless driving and car positioning. Then the grasses parted and something that looked like an elephant came into view. It was the head of our first tiger. I was shocked at how much bigger this tiger was than any of our other big cat sightings. The tiger that we saw was a young male with the name of Sumanchu, which means “moon beam” in English. He walked down to the water hole, crouched down, and began lapping up water. He even waded a little! He left without acknowledging us much at all. He left such a calm atmosphere that I’m sure sure speaking would be considered a crime, but of course that didn’t stop people from mumbling.

That night all I could hope for was a tiger cub. I desperately wanted to see one, but I knew I was pushing my luck. So, on our last game drive, we aimlessly wandered around the park until the last 45 minutes. We then came across a group of safari trucks packed on the road hoping for a tiger to show itself from where she was perched. Kay, our host and guide (not the ones we are required to have), tried to reason with the other trucks and told them that the tiger wouldn’t come if she was being crowded and disturbed by the noise of the vehicles and people. They refused to listen, so we stationed ourselves by a nearby water hole in hopes that the group of trucks would lose interest. Right when we were considering abandoning this mission, the tiger emerged from the trees. And to my luck, she was a cub. Because she was still a cub, she had a “code” instead of a name. The cubs in her litter were called SU3…or 4, 5, or 6. As she was just a cub, she hid under a small tree much of the time. If we hadn’t previously seen her she would have been invisible under the brush. After about 10 minutes of this a deer showed up to get a drink. Luckily for the deer the cub wasn’t hungry and halfheartedly chased it away.  Even if she wasn’t trying it was still amazing to watch. Once she re-stationed herself where she couldn’t be seen we decided that continuing to stake out this adorable cub was now a lost cause for the most part. I left with a smile glued to my face for the rest of the day. I wouldn’t trade this experience for the world.

 

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2 Responses

  1. Cathy Kennedy says:

    Hi Shia, Thank you for posting! I just love reading everyone’s blogs and yours sounds like you,
    so they are all really fun to read. I’m happy you got to see the big tiger, Sumanchu! The cubs sound so adorable but it’s nice that the one wasn’t hungry and half-heartedly chased the deer away! I can only imagine your glued smile on your pretty face! Love, Cathy

  2. Kyra says:

    Oh my goodness! The baby tiger is so adorable with her little tounge out! It would have been so amazing to see her in the wild!

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