Crow, Tiger and a pack of Dogs

It is a feature of South Indian forests to change colors at surprising speeds. If one visits Kabini in December, and again in February, they will see a forest completely changed from lush greens to a dry and brown one. One can feel the increased heat, especially in the afternoon safaris - as if nature is forecasting the coming of the summer.

On one such February safari in 2021, we found the tiger easily - a fortunate bunch. The tiger was a young male who was resting inside the bushes, amongst the clutter. As these things go, we were happy enough to see the tiger that we almost missed a bigger event - the fact that the tiger had killed a Sambar deer and was waiting on the kill. In fact, the carcass was closer to our jeep than the actual tiger!!

The evening got much more interesting as soon as we figured out the kill - suddenly a few crows hanging around made a lot of sense - they were waiting to have a share of the meat. Pretty soon we observed a pack of wild dogs settling down near the backwaters - somehow they had gotten wind of a potential meal.

Soon the tiger himself got up, and started towards the waters for a drink, but changed his mind halfway through - he would rather safeguard his meal rather than have a drink but risk losing the meal. Soon after he settled down, a crow decided to make a bold attempt at snatching a bite - he flew down, but tiger was immediately on the guard, and ran forward to ward off the irritating bird.

As the evening shadows grew, the hangers-on started losing hope, and one by one left the tiger to look for other food. At last only the tiger remained, which then happily stood up, stretched, and entered the cool backwaters of Kabini for a relaxing bath.

It's a cherished dream of every wildlifer to see the evening golden light fall on a tiger in a pool, in the midst of a vibrant forest - and very few places can offer this sight as well as the Kabini backwaters. With a golden sun setting on this memorable scene, a memorable day in the wild ended.