The Tiger
The majestic tiger was once found in large numbers all over the subcontinent. It was feared, misunderstood, admired, and even worshiped as the vehicle of goddess Durga. In our own times, when man has all but wiped out this wonderful animal, few of us know what a tiger is like up close... At a time when tigers were hunted in the name of sport, the Maharaja of Dholpur ordered a beat. Some two hundred men formed a wide semicircle, beating drums and canisters in order to flush out the tiger hiding in the undergrowth and drive him towards the hunters waiting in a vehicle at the opposite end. But the tiger in question had other ideas. Instead of running towards the vehicle, he whipped around and tore through the line of beaters. In doing so, its right fore paw landed on the head of one of the beaters. There was a sickening sound of bones being crushed and the luckless man's head and neck simply disappeared within the thoracic cavity. The tiger has phenomenal strength but doesn't use strength alone to knock down its prey. Essentially a loner, he believes in stealth and ambush. Thus he approaches his prey up-wind, so his smell won't give him away. And he patiently stalks his prey, advancing very, very slowly,
But should follow-up action be necessary, it includes driving the claws into the trachea and hanging on till the animal is choked to death. But if the injury is deep, as that caused by porcupine quills or a stray bullet lodged in the flesh, or if one of his limbs is broken, the tiger is helpless. Hunting time is dusk or later, sometimes just before the crack of dawn. A tiger most often attacks its prey from behind. Out in the wilds, a tiger is not necessarily an unfriendly animal. According to him, she devotes every minute of the first two years of the cubs'' life to feeding and caring for them. But the forest has its own team of watchmen -- the kakar, langur and jungle babbler -- who are quick to spot a carnivore on the move and lose no time giving out the alarm call. It has been observed that these tigers seldom drink at any of the eleven fresh water tanks in that area. Having eaten his fill, a tiger may hide the kill and return to it later. But then, unlike man, he does not kill for sport. The celebrated wildlife photographers Naresh and Rajesh Bedi who have made some spellbinding films on the tiger, once trailed a tigress for the purpose in Kanha National Park. But the fact remains that the tiger is a territorial animal, marking its domain by spraying the trees around, much like a dog. Having made a kill, he generally drags it to the shade of a bush where he can eat in peace. If lives are lost and blood is shed on the forest floor, it is a part of nature's plan. There was no question of practicing infanticide.
Common topics in this essay:
Maharaja Dholpur,
Valmik Thapar,
Bengal Tiger,
Sometimes Sunderbans,
According Corbett,
,
National Park,
Rajesh Bedi,
Jim Corbett,
Naresh Bedi,
prey species,
sunderbans tiger,
royal bengal tiger,
tigress cubs,
royal bengal,
bengal tiger,
tiger attacks,
male tiger,
fresh water,
animal tiger,
black stripes,
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Acceptance Essays
