'The Tiger is a large-hearted gentleman with boundless courage'
-Sir Jim Corbett
The luck had bestowed upon us after several hours of rummage in the forest. Our first Safari at Zone-1 in the evening had resulted in a douche due to heavy rains which had started pouring as we reached towards the core area. We were very hopeful on that day as we were told that this zone had been witnessing very good sightings since last few days. It marks the territory of a young and majestic tiger named Sultan which had been sighted on several occasion in this area. But today due to heavy downpour the forest had become very desolate and deserted like never before. We all felt very dismal and gloomy at our lucklessness.
As we moved further towards the core area, suddenly we were greeted with loud calls of the monkeys and avian. Our forest guide alerted us of a possible tiger sighting. Suddenly he asked us to gaze towards the nala on the left side… Yes!!! we could spot a majestically looking carnivore gazing sharply towards two antelopes grazing nearby, his golden mane was shining giving a portentous looks at that moment. Guide told us this tiger is T-6 also known as Romeo. Suddenly Romeo started a vigorous chase and we could see the two antelopes galloping desperately towards the eastern side. We thought that very soon it will catch one of the antelope but suddenly a very unexpected thing happened. At spur of the moment, the tiger turned towards the western side and got hold of a Nilgai who was running heedlessly beside the tiger. Romeo caught the herbivore at his throat, putting him on ground within seconds and mercilessly dragging him towards the ridge side. All gypsies with tourists & photographers got lined up along forest track excitingly witnessing this one of the most exhilarating moment of their lifetime. This kill happened at a distance of not more than thirty meters from us. I was so much mesmerized by the kill that I forget to take any photograph during that moment. By the time I could realized that I had to take snaps, the beast had already started dragging his prey towards the hill side. As our vehicle moved closer towards the tiger we could see him feasting at the thigh portion of the herbivore. The most enchanting aspect was that the tiger had no impact of the nearby vehicles on his hunting skill. It showed hardly any concern about our presence and in fact it appeared that the poor Nilgai had got confused by the movement of the gypsies which started rushing towards the scene to witness the kill. It might have got trapped in the clutches of the mighty tiger in order to avoid the rush of the vehicles. What so ever it is, the scene of kill shall be a lifelong memory for me and many others who were witness to this rare feast.
Hearing this we were really dumbfounded and bewildered....Just look at the nature's dilemma!!!
It is amazing to know that a tiger is feeling sorry about it's prey…. but believe me it is true!!