Tigress Mundi Dadar Hunts Down a Fawn

It was one of those great mornings, and we were cruising along link seven road at Kanha National Park in Central India. Margeret Norah and her husband from France were with me hoping to see their first tiger. Link Seven drive is one of the most picturesque in the tourism zone of the park. 

The road is situated at the last leg of the tourism zone in Kanha Range neighboring some forest-clad ranges, a group of tabletop mountains that form a ridge in this erstwhile crater we call Kanha National Park in Maikal Hills of Satpura Mountain Range. The Satpura Range transects Madhya Pradesh giving rise to some of most exotic terrains in the World loaded with amazing natural formations. These fantastic biodiversity heavens are also known as Tigerland. 

It was Capt. James Forsyth a geologist in British India who has best described hilly regions of Central India in his book "Highlands of Central Indian".     

That morning we had decided to cut off from the crowd which always heads towards areas where the probability of tiger sightings is the highest. And as happened for much of a distance we did not encounter any big cat nor an exciting sight of creatures that dominate the wilderness. We were heading towards the Kanha Meadow and then we had planned to visit the recreation center a place to visit the toilet and then have breakfast on the jeep bonnet in the open.  Jungle drives without any impactful sightings can be boring and silence often prevails. That was what was going on in our minds not knowing that will witness a sight of a lifetime.         

It was at Badi Gansh or Tall Grass that we encountered the tigress Mundi Dadar at that time she was dominating the link 7 area and probably had cubs.  All we could see was her head popping out of the thick grass. We had come to a stop and were keenly observing her whence I noticed here avid glance in the direction of a deer herd far away. She was repeating the act well hidden in the bush.  

"She is planning to hunt", I whispered confidently to my guests. And then we changed our plans to visit the center and decided to wait. The guests were cooperative, and an expectancy in the air loomed over us. After some time, the deer began to inch closer to the meadow and the tigress decided to come out in the open and then she quickly receded into the back of the bush. She was completely hidden now.  We could not see her. By this time two more jeeps that had just arrived, they could not see her either.  The guides of Kanha are smart people, and they knew instantly that we had located a tiger. They parked the jeep behind us and sat quietly.  

                                                          Tigeress Hunting Fawn

Unfortunately for them a spotted deer female and her fawn were strolling down the road that connects  Kanha Meadow grazing frequently as they came towards us. Our hearts had begun to beat faster in expectancy by this time. And as we had hoped for...the deer and the buck veered around and went straight to the spot where the tigress was hiding.   This is it, I said to myself and readied my mobile phone camera, Margeret had her camera rolled out in expectancy too. 

There was a big rush shrill and alarm cry as the tigress charged. Completely surprised the female dived into the nearby bush. All we could see was the big cat chasing the desperate bewildered fawn. The fawn ran in our direction with the cat chasing behind. Very close to the jeep perhaps at a distance of 10 feet, the tigress pounced on the fawn as it let out a heart rendering cry. That was it. I stood in a trance as the big cat turned in the opposite direction and scampered away with the dead baby hanging between her canines. I was close to death standing on the stationery jeep well exposed. She could have chosen me instead of the fawn. But tigers are disciplined predators and they kill only for food and we humans are not included.     

The video enumerates the last scene well but is of poor quality having filmed using a small mobile phone. 

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Uday Freelances as Naturalist in Central India. He is an avid birder and tiger enthusiast. He blogs on tigers, wildlife and birds. He also writes on the environment and conservation.

Uday also provides SEO Services and Website Contents in English. He teaches Digital Marketing in Jabalpur in Summer Holidays.
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Contact: pateluday90@hotmail.com
09755089323 

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