Choti Tara, a legendary tigress from the circuit clan of Tadoba was spotted with her 5th litter, this time a single cub, when the park opened after the monsoons in October 2022. Sired by the young intruder Yuvraj, this male cub and his mother were spotted several times and delighted safari enthusiasts with their antics. During my recent visit to the woods of Tadoba in March 2023, on one of my full-day game drives, I too was blessed with their sighting and spent hours watching and photographing the duo. When first spotted, the mother and baby were sleeping inside the thickets, shielding themselves from the hot sun. Their refuge was near a natural water body and a visit to the latter upon waking up which would bring them into plain view was expected. We decided to wait. Summers in Tadoba are scorching and March temperatures rise up to 45 degrees Celsius. Those of us who go on full-day safaris in these temperatures are fully aware of the uncomfortable, tan-inducing, long waits that are part of the game. Our wait began at about 10 AM and as the hot winds seemed to slow down the passage of time, there was no sign of the mother and cub waking up. We hung around patiently but two and a half hours later we had exhausted the supply of water and buttermilk that our resort had provided us at the start of the safari. We decided to go to the gate to replenish our stock but before leaving, intuitively, I asked our driver to move slightly ahead to check if there was any movement. Just as we advanced a little, I saw the 6–7-month-old let out a little yawn — he was waking up! The water-refilling trip to the gate would have to wait — we couldn’t risk missing an opportunity to photograph the duo!
To our surprise, even as the Mother continued sleeping, the cub stepped out from behind the bushes and looked straight at us! That is a sight then has been imprinted indelibly in my mind and will always stay close to my heart! Just as my friend Shyam, his wife Jayashree and I were discussing how handsome this little feline was and how grateful we were for having spotted him, we noticed the mother arising from her slumber. A trip to the water body with her son was now inevitable, so I asked our driver to position the gypsy strategically to get some good shots of them in one frame. The picture posted here is the culmination of a 3-hour-long patient wait in the blazing sun! Over the next hour, the mother-son duo very graciously granted us several photographic opportunities before they headed back to the bushes. Only then did we realize how thirsty we were and drove off to the gate to refill our water bottles.
That evening we had a phenomenal sighting of Queen Maya and Rudra but it was the endearing moments that this cub and his mother had presented us that had stolen our hearts. We left Tadoba the next day but I continued to inquire about Choti Tara and her cub, asking my driver and guide for their updates. In the week following our return, she was seen with her cub and surprisingly, with the cub of her daughter Bijili. The trio was photographed playing in a water body and although wildlife experts were excited by this uncommon scene they were not able to explain this unusual tiger behavior.
But alas, little did anyone know the happy scenes were meant to be short-lived. Over the next two days, Choti Tara was found patrolling her area, incessantly calling out to her cub. She looked tired, pacing from one end of her territory to the other. The inference that wildlife experts have drawn from this behavior is that she had lost her baby. The cause of death remains unknown.
Much like the grief of Mother Mary that echoed in the streets of Jerusalem when Jesus was crucified, this summer the meadows of Jamni will reverberate with the cries of Choti Tara. I have choked on emotions and fought back tears whilst processing this image and penning this write-up. The cub is gone but he has left me with memories that I will cherish for a lifetime.
No Comments