TIGER!! TIGER!!
Visitors to Tiger Tops Jungle
Lodge have opportunities every day to go out in the
jungle in jeeps or on elephants to view the abundant
wildlife in Chitwan National Park. It is always a thrill
to see the gaur (largest of the world's wild cattle) the
chital (spotted deer) and the great one-horned rhinos ,
but deep down inside every visitor is hoping to see a
tiger. Rarely do the visitors actually get such an
opportunity. The tigers are not only shy, but they are
chiefly nocturnal and tend to be snoozing while the
humans are out looking for them.
On this afternoon, all of the
Screwy Tuskers, along with Patty Locke, delightful friend
of the Gurkhas, mounted three elephants, Madu Mala Kali,
Durga Kali and Roop Kali, and embarked on an adventure
they would never forget.
The Screwy Tuskers had issued a
mandate this year. They wanted to see a tiger and they
would see a tiger. They were assured as much by Chandra,
the tiger tracker, who sat on the middle elephant, Roop
Kali.
“Yeah, sure” thought
the group as the elephants commenced their peaceful
stroll through the jungle.
 They strolled through the trees with
langurs silently watching them from above, carefully
choosing a few choice leaves to drop on their heads from
time to time. They strolled across the Reu River, pausing
to allow the elephants to sip some of the refreshing
though muddy water. They strolled up the river bank and
through the fields of elephant grass until they found
three gaur grazing and staring ambivalently at the party.
The jungle was peaceful and quiet, except for the songs
of the birds and the chittering of the insects and the
munching of the gaur and the gentle swaying of the jumbos
in the grass.
As the group proceeded leisurely
through the grass, Chandra stopped Roop Kali and closely
examined some dark spots on the ground and then explained
that those spots were blood from a fresh deer kill.
“Uh huh,” thought the skeptics in the group,
“I’ll bet he says that to all the tourists.
Looks like mud to me.”
 Before the skepticism had time to take
hold, three chital went dashing through the grass -
running fast, as though they either had somewhere very
important to go or something very important to get away
from. Running deer might not seem unusual in most places,
but Chitwan is a wildlife refuge. The deer, although they
don’t particularly LIKE humans, don’t generally
seem to be afraid of them. These deer were running for a
reason.
Without more warning than the
flight of the chittal, Madu Mala Kali’s mahout let
out a long, sharp whistle. Madu Mala Kali let loose a
muffled trumpet. Durga Kali and Roop Kali started
breathing heavily and making a loud rumbling noise from
deep inside. The mahouts and Chandra were whistling and
chattering back and forth and slowly moving the elephants
into a triangle formation.
As long as the elephants were
rumbling and breathing heavily, the mahouts knew that
they were smelling something that made them nervous. The
mahouts trusted the elephants’ senses and instincts
as they directed them cautiously in formation. The Screwy
Tuskers were as silent and breathless during these
moments as the elephants were rumbling and panting.
For what seemed like hours the
group waited in absolute silence. A stillness fell over
the entire jungle. Not a birdsong was to be heard; the
gaur stopped munching; the monkeys suspended their
leaf-dropping mission and held their breath; the chital
had long since fled. 
What seemed like an eternal wait
actually only lasted a few moments when
“r-r-r-r-r-RRRRRRRarrgghhh!!!!!!” roared Lucky
Pothi, as she jumped out of the grass to announce her
presence.
Mouths dropped and jaws popped
and eyes bugged out like so many cartoon mice faced with
imminent destruction by the household cat. The tigress
was merely yards away from the Screwy Tuskers. Did the
jumbos run? They did not. They held their ground like the
brave and loyal beasts that they are.
Lucky Pothi was not interested in
the humans. She was tired. She was stuffed. She had a
belly full of fresh venison and wanted to go curl up
somewhere and digest her meal. She turned from the group,
giving the Screwy Tuskers a spectacularly full view of
her huge, sleek body and long thick tail, and gracefully
ran up the riverbank.
 As the trembling humans watched in awe,
the tigress’s attention was drawn to something in
the tall grass nearby. She made a sharp turn to the
right, away from the river and dashed through grass
instigating a huge commotion as a peacock and a peahen,
screaming “google google burble eek eek eek,”
went flying out of the grass and off to safety. Lucky
Pothi didn’t break stride. She turned back to the
left, jumped in the river and swam away to peace and
nighttime.
The Screwy Tuskers by then had
both gained and lost some perspective on reality. After
all, this was no labrador flushing a couple of pheasants
out of the bush they had just seen. This was a tigress
flushing two peacocks. The fact that they were sitting on
elephants in the middle of the jungle had become almost
mundane.
This day was a record day for
tiger sightings during the WEPA tournament. Earlier in
the day, Freddy and Tom Hunt had spotted a tiger from
their jeep, and in the afternoon yet another tiger was
seen by Jaya and Gurpal Singh while on a jeep safari.
Back at the lodge the group sat
around the fire exchanging tiger tales, prompting a
wistful Raj Kalaan to declare quietly “I have been
coming to elephant polo for eleven years and have never
seen a tiger on safari.” Maybe next year, Raj.
 Guests at the lodge were treated to a
distinctive aesthetic experience this evening. The oil
painting seen above was
unveiled in a brief ceremony, greatly enriching the
atmosphere of the dining hall.
Arrangements for the painting
were made by Sunny Kalaan (right). The artist is Usha
Hooda, from New Dehli. Ms. Hooda paints as a hobby,
although the professional quality of the tiger painting
belies this fact. She loves to paint wildlife, from
spiders to elephants. She also loves to sketch well toned
human bodies. Perhaps in the future more of Usha
Hooda’s artwork will find its way to Tiger Tops.
The captivating image generated a
great deal of attention from the guests throughout the
week, as they lost themselves in the scene and speculated
on the subject of the tiger’s focused gaze.
Painting copyright
by Usha Hooda, 1997. All rights reserved.
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