Corbett Series 1: A tryst with the Terai Tiger

After many years of futile planning and preparations I finally decided that this time it was either Corbett or nowhere else! In fact it had reached a point where I got weary of explaining people as to why I haven’t been to Corbett despite being an ardent wildlife lover. I had planned my trip from October 15th to 20th and booked myself for 8 safaris in Corbett. I had entrusted all my bookings with Mr. Rajesh Panwar who is a veteran in Corbett and one of the most reliable persons for securing your safari bookings. It was heartbreaking to know that the famous Dhikala zone opens only after the 15th of November, but I just had to visit Corbett this time hence there was no looking back. In fact in absence of the Dhikala zone, I decided to visit each of the other zones like Jhirna, Dhela & Sitabhani and merely enjoy the spectacular natural beauty of Corbett.

I landed up in Ramnagar on the evening of October 15th and was picked up by Mr. Aadil who took me to the Falcon Nest Resort which is quaintly located at the edge of the adjoining Sitabani Forest. The next morning Mr. Prashant Verma joined me as my naturalist cum birding guide and we mutually decided that this was primarily going to be a birding tour since tiger sightings were nearly impossible given the thick post-monsoon vegetation and the elusive nature of the tigers from the Terai.

Sure enough 3 safaris went by soaking in the spectacular birdlife of Corbett and almost every safari was revealing a lifer-species. So much so that by the 4th safari to Bijrani which was an afternoon game drive we were only observing birds and almost completely forgot about looking for tigers. As we ambled through the forest tracks we suddenly came across another Gypsy whose guide was gesticulating furiously at us and was suggesting that we immediately take the road that turned left and went parallel to a dry river bed. Those who have been on such game drives would immediately relate to the sudden rush of excitement that floods your senses during these moments in the forests! Our ace driver Jishan veered sharply to the left and it was only after a few frenzied moments we came across another Gypsy who had already taken up a strategic position that provided a clear view of the dry river bed. We were informed that one of the groups had seen the resident tigress (fondly called the Ringorawali Female) crossing the game track and walking along the dry river bed and since she was on her afternoon patrol, she is expected to continue walking over the river bed for some more time. We were expecting to intercept her from the high bank which offered a clear view of the river bed. Based on this premise we decided to wait for the tigress to make an appearance. Every passing minute seemed like an hour as all of were suddenly desperate to catch a glimpse of the magnificent beast. Then suddenly the tourists in the Gypsy ahead of us almost leapt out of their skins in excitement and were pointing at something down the river bed. We of course knew what it was! As we drove our vehicle marginally ahead, we could now see the source of all the exhilaration. There she was…walking like a specter along the river bed. I decided to absorb the moment first instead of taking photographs but soon she disappeared behind thick vegetation.

These are the moments when the skills and experience of Safari Drivers and Naturalists are put to the test. Our guide instructed our driver to move ahead along the road and park our vehicle at a depression that was almost at the same level of the river bed and wait for the tigress to break cover. Another agonizing wait started and only this time it was much longer! We all felt that may be the decision to come to this place wasn’t a great decision after all and chances are high that the tigress must have taken another route and wouldn’t show up here. But our guide assured us with supreme confidence that there is no other way the tigress would go and insisted that we have patience. All of a sudden our guide announced ecstatically, “Woh aa raha tiger” (there comes the tigress). Oh what a moment! The majestic beast was now trudging along an open patch along the river bed and we had a clear sight of her.

Her every step exuded grace and panache befitting an empress! I was actually standing on the Gypsy’s cross bar and shooting when suddenly I heard a loud crash. As I turned around I saw Prashant momentarily loosing balance and tripping over Aadil who was instantaneously thrown out of the Gypsy. Fortunately he recovered immediately and scrambled back on the Gypsy and we had a hearty laugh as the tigress also disappeared amongst the thickets. Point to be noted here is that all of us in the car had seen tigers in the wild multiple times before, but still bubbling with exuberance that is most likely to be witnessed amongst people seeing their first tiger in the wild

The tip off, the chase, the anxious wait, the anticipatory move and the sheer ecstasy of the final sighting, that’s what makes a tiger sighting so very special.

Stay tuned for my Corbett Series 2, where I shall reveal about my second tiger sighting and a rendezvous with one of Corbett's most elusive denizen !