Imagine!
You are in a semi open jeep, tarpaulin top, sides open. It is 7 am, you are inside the jungle on a safari drive. It is just you and the jeep driver, familiar to you by now, it is the 5th time you both are out in the jungle. You reach a watering-hole, you sense that the jungle is very tensed, you exchange nervous glances with the driver, who is equally alert. The driver switches the engine off, you are listening intently, it is silence all around, pin drop silence. Something is afoot.
All of a sudden, you see him staring at your jeep from behind the bushes, perfectly camouflaged, not more than 25 feet away. instinctively, you grip your camera, the light is perfect, but you don’t want to make any sudden movements, you don’t want to scare him away. You wait for him to settle down. He doesn’t. He shows his displeasure by looking at you and your jeep intently. You match his gaze, it is a battle of wits, you are not willing to give in, no matter how intimidating it is. He makes the first move, he gently lifts his left paw and places it gingerly in front of him, still looking intently towards the jeep. You, as silently as possible, switch your camera on. He pauses, looks in your direction with one foot extended, waits a good minute before deciding to walk forward.
He takes a few more steps towards you. You gently lift your camera to your eye, without making any sudden movements. Wrong lens! 400 mm, he will fill the frame! He keeps coming forward, curious, never breaking his gaze from the jeep, he is just 15 feet away from you. You have him on your view finder, focused. You wait for the right moment, he turns to the side, and then you click. Big mistake! He turns his head, looks at the jeep, he has clearly heard the click and he is not happy. You see his eyes widening, his pupil shrinking in size, he starts to frown, the jaw drops ever so gently, the upper lip starts to curl up… you know what is coming. Then, you hear something that strikes terror in your heart, you hear the thunderous growl from the most feared predator of all from less than 15 feet away. There is nothing between you and him apart from a flimsy iron bar. It is your 108th Tiger sighting, you think you have seen it all, but deep down you know you are petrified. All you want to do is to get out of there…you whisper to the driver… ‘chalo’ (go)
An interesting adventure from the jungles of Wayanad.
Anil
