“We may not be able to prepare the future for our children, but we can at least prepare our children for the future.” - Franklin D Roosevelt
I have never had the pleasure of seeing the big male Tiger at Tadoba, the Waghdo male. He has been christened as India's biggest tiger by several professional photographers of repute. It took me quite a while before I could finally lay my eyes on him. And he sure is the biggest of them all! His sheer size is warning enough for all the other males in the area. But then he is the most popular amongst the ladies out there!!! He has had several litters, and his genes have definitely been passed down to all his cubs!
Very unusual for any male, who are chased away by the female before the female has her litter, this chap has been playing a doting father, and is very commonly seen along the main road in the Moharli range of Tadoba’ s jungles. His favourite haunt being the Teliya Lake, a very large water body in Moharli.
On one of my safaris, I was intent on seeing and capturing this one, and didn’t bother exploring the other areas. I had a group of friends from Microsoft with me on that trip. And all the stories about the exploits of this huge male had them very excited.
The team finally had their due as dusk approached, and there was immense excitement in Teliya. Seeing several gypsies parked in and around the hot spots, we decided to stakeout in one particular location. The March heat was intense, up around 43 Centigrade, but this was not going to deter us in any way. The silence was deafening as everyone were nervously excited. Who knows what was in store. We were all intent at getting a very good sighting before we called it a day. I kept shooting away at birds, my only escape to beat the waiting.
And then....one by one, all the four cubs started appearing at a distance of about 200 meters. They were about 6-7 months old, and without any bother, all the cubs were busy playing and running around Teliya. There was no sight of the big male though!
All of us were completely mesmerised by the action, seeing the youngsters play, have mock fights and learning their trade as a part of their fun. And then all of a sudden we saw a big tail flick in the air. It was indeed the big male, lying down in a ditch where his cubs were playing. This was what we were all waiting for, the climax to the evening's sighting. The Waghdo male got up slowly, and looked around. All the other wildlife in the area, several chital, (spotted deer), Sambhar, Peacocks and several other birds started calling and alerting the animals in the area. What a wonderful cacophony it was. But today the Big Boy wasn’t going to hunt any of them; at least it seemed that way. He slowly trudged along, walking away into the elephant grass. And as if by sheer discipline, all the cubs followed suit, following their father back to the family lair. And the majestic Waghdo male, led the way, his swagger, his style and his sheer presence captivating everyone watching him. This was "paisa wasool" or the full money's worth as people would say.
And as darkness started creeping in, we made our way back to the main gates, very excited, happy and over the moon with the sighting we had. And as the night progressed, all of us couldn’t but help keep talking all night, about what a day it was. The discussions went on all night, and it was past midnight, before we decided to get some shut eye, and get ready for another day out in the jungles!
And the 3-4 hours of sleep that everyone got, I am sure, must have been very very sound rest, each one lost in their dreams, and maybe the Waghdo male must have blessed their dreams with a better sighting!
And the next day, we saw them all at the artificial water hole number 2, having fun under the watchful eyes of their powerful father!
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