India’s cheetah population reaches 53 after the tenth litter in Kuno, but experts question whether births inside bomas signal real conservation success. The announcement of the tenth cheetah litter in Kuno National Park on March 9 has pushed India’s cheetah population to 53 individuals. The numbers appear impressive. Of these, 44 cheetahs are currently alive, including nine recently brought from Botswana, while 45 cubs have been born in India since the project began. Out of these births, 33 cubs are surviving and 12 have died.For a species declared extinct in India in 1952, the return of cheetah cubs is emotionally powerful. Government officials and conservation managers have understandably celebrated the milestone as proof that Project Cheetah is moving in the right direction. But is this a right perception? Also read: 3 Years In: Unveiling the Truth About India's Cheetah Project Perhaps, No. When viewed through the lens of ecology and long-term conservation, the numbe...
This is another amazing wildlife story from Bandhavgarh tiger reserve. It has come from a young yet experienced Gypsy driver who took me around the jungle for safaris. In the past ,mahouts would narrate such stories. But after the elephant rides were discontinued in national parks, these elephant riders have lost touch with people. They have been replaced by Gypsy drivers and guides. Many of whom spend almost 7 hours a day in the jungle and develop genuine wildlife knowledge. So Jitendra or Jittu, the Gypsy driver accompanying me narrated an interesting story of a tiger waiting to take revenge for her mother. The sub adult cub “7A” is ready to take revenge from his father “Chakradhara Male”.
Why 7A Waits For Revenge
A little over 3 year of age, this handsome tiger was named so because of ‘7’ and ‘A’ marks on his face. “The tiger is growing fast and getting ferocious”, said Jittu, “soon he will mark his territory”. 7A is moving in Tala and Magadhi. He is likely to settle down in Chakradhara, the territory of his father Chakradhara Male replacing him. But why does he want to take revenge? I whispered as we waited near a water body expecting a tiger sighting. Jittu explained, “Few years ago, Chakradhara Male or CM had killed all four cubs of Spotty, mother of 7A and his two siblings. The four cubs were quite small and were hidden in deep woods by Spotty.” As he finished his sentence, there was an alarm call from the deer. “I hope the tiger is somewhere around”, he said. But 15 -minute later, there was no sign of any big cat and we continued our conversation in whispers.
“Actually, the cubs belonged to Mangoo, a dominating tiger of those days but CM started pushing Mangoo out of his territory . Knowing that her cubs are at risk, Spotty even entertained CM with false mating”, he said. “One day CM dodged Spotty and killed all the four cubs. In fact he crushed their heads and people started calling him Mud Katiya (one who cuts heads),” he lifted the curtains from the suspense. “ Chakrdhara Male should not have killed the cubs”, he said ruefully. According to the law of the jungle, Jittu said philosophically , it is almost certain that after growing up, male cubs kill their father. “CM is also going to meet the same fate”, he said, restarting the gypsy engine following a distant deer call.
How Tigers Get Names
This time we were lucky. We saw Kajari,a beautiful tigress in Tala. She is from the first litter of Spotty. She also had Sundari and another female tigress as siblings. Recently, Kajari has given birth to four cubs. After keeping the cubs at a safe place, Kajari is looking for prey. She even made an attempt to kill a deer and then settled down in a small water body. Ever wondered how the big cats are named in jungles, especially those in the northern and Central India forests. Some tigers are famous for their body strength, some are known because of some unique physical features – like 7A- while some tigers become popular because of their antics.
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They earn a name for themselves and the national parks they belong to. They become celebrities in the wildlife circuit! In the 90s, there was a famous tiger known as ‘Charger’, for his habit of charging every gypsies and even elephant carrying tourists. The guides often stop Gypsies at ‘Charger point ‘ in Magadhi tourist Zone and narrate the anecdotes from Charger’s era in Bandhavgarh.“Guides and drivers name them”, said Jittu. In the past we had Langru- the limping one, Mohini (beautiful tigress) and Pyari (beautiful) in Bandhavgarh . In recent times, Spotty is known because of the T mark on her face and her sister Dotty for D. There is Bheem named after one of the Pandava brothers of Mahabharata, the ancient India epic. Of the large number of tigers, only few sighted in tourist zones are named.
Of Machli and Collarwali
Some of the big cats have really become famous world over because of the documentaries produced by BBC, Discovery or National Geographic. Machli from Ranthambore was supposed to be the most photographed and famous tigress. There was a mark of fish or Machli in Hindi on her body leading to the name. There was Collarwali of Pench tiger reserve, named so because of a radio collar put around her. Though the collar was detached long ago, the name tagged with her forever.
Also read: Who Is The Next Queen of Pench National Park After Collarwali Rests In Peace?
She was friendly with tourists and was never bothered with the presence of the wildlife tourists. Most of the time, the managers of any national park do not recognize such identities of tigers and the stories revolving around them. But big cats like Machli and Collarwalis were so famous and even forced the state forest departments of Rajasthan and MP respectively to recognize their identity as it is.
Images Courtsey: Cover Picture and second image by Jittu, Tigers in water body buy Sukhsagar pandey and Collarwali with cubs by Pench Tiger Reserve
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