Travelogue: Trailing the Tiger

The sun was about to retire for the day and the tip of the yellow yoke was just visible above the bushes. Suddenly, we heard a langur call ceaselessly followed by the call of the cheetal at regular intervals. We went left toward the stream where we spied a herd of cheetals. With their necks strained towards the other bank lined by thick elephant grass, their snouts were sniffing the wind for something close by. We stopped and waited with baited breath — our cameras ready for action. We were in Jhirna zone of Corbett National Park, a name which obviously needs no introduction. The oldest National Park in India and named after the legendary tiger hunter turned naturalist Jim Corbett, the park spread over more than 520 sq kms, is divided into 5 different zones- Dhikala (the most well known), Bijrani, Sonanadi, Jhirna and Domunda.

During the monsoon season, four zones of Corbett National Park- Dhikala, Bijrani, Sonanadi, and Domunda remains closed. However Jhirna zone, located in the southern part is drier in comparison to the other four zones and hence remains open for tourists round the year. The place offers thrilling experience in wildlife safari, more particularly in the monsoons when everything just assumes a gorgeous green hue. Jhirna’s topography mainly constitutes of deciduous and secondary forests interspersed with plush open grasslands that offer amazingly good visibility of wild animals. The hills are crowned with dense patches of bamboo - a good natural habitat for the tiger and other wild animals.

After about half an hour of traveling from Ramnagar, we reached the Jhirna gate, where after checking our permit; we were given the green signal to proceed. Once inside the forest, there was a sudden drop of temperature due to noticeable increase in vegetation all around us. Also, the ride had turned bumpier and uncomfortable, but none of us were complaining.

As we drove, we saw monkeys doing strange activities up on the trees. Our guide said this was a sign that the tiger might be around. Suddenly we heard the “call” of a cheetal which was coming from very close quarters. Our expectations arose and we kept on watching keenly. As time passed, few other vehicles stopped by near us. The call of the cheetal and the movement of the monkeys suddenly stopped followed by total silence only to start all over again. Occasionally this cycle was broken by the sound of a reversing car, tired of a long wait of a “Darshan” of the King of the forest.

Suddenly we heard some movement in the bushes. I was quite certain it had to be the tiger this time. I was ready with my camera, raring to capture the fearful creature immortalised by Sir William Blake in his poem.

Tiger tiger burning bright,

In the forest of the night,

What immortal hand or eye,

Could frame thy fearful symmetry.....

As the train of words flashed in my mind, a deer darted across the road. We were all eyes and ears, eagerly waiting for the tiger to come out the next, chasing its prey. But to our deep dismay, nothing of that sort happened. Instead, after a few minutes, another deer- a big one emerged from the bushes. It wasn’t in any hurry; in fact it stopped in the middle of the road for a good photo shoot.

The wait continued and time seemed to stretch on forever when a bark resounded again. We strained our ears trying to pinpoint the direction of the sound and as soon as the langurs started calling, the rest of the jeeps noisily came back to the scene, resulting in the barks stopping altogether. We cursed our luck and the other noisy jeeps which had come into the area, but could do nothing! Both our guide and driver seemed adamantly convinced that we were in the right spot and that if we could wait patiently with minimal noise there was a strong chance to spot the tiger. Our hopes were rising and falling with the barks and noises of the animals. Finally, after a little more wait, we were forced to drop the “hunt” and rushed back to entry gate to make it out just in time.

On the way back to the hotel, we went through the entire chain of events animatedly and agreed that though we were not fortunate enough to spot the tiger, the experience was indeed mind blowing. Though the much waited for “show” did not happen, the feel of adrenaline surging, heart thumping aloud and living on the edge was really invigorating! And as we discussed, debated, we discovered- just like we were on a tiger-watch, the tiger too was perhaps on a human-watch!

On a winding note, it would be quite apt to add that Jhirna, an all season destination promises an unmatched wilderness experience compared to the other more popular (and hence more commercialised) zones of Corbett. For the real lovers of nature and wildlife enthusiasts, who want to avoid the crowd in Corbett and have a quality holiday in serene environment blended with adventure, Jhirna is just the right place to go.

Sriparna Saha