A Hunter’s Tale…

Oh deer! I watch you with preying eyes…
Fangs – sharp & murderous, drip my intent -
As the medulla signals the chance at hunger satiation
My peering eyes, deliver your perdition…

As you come closer, non-bearing the blazing summer
Preciousness of water dawns on both of us
For you – to quench your last dying thirst
For me – to wash away your blood vein burst…

Waiting is the game… I persevere in its intensity
Will you drop your guard and wander closer death…
I see you’ve picked my scent, Ah! alert, like none
And I’ve picked you – my deer, my chosen one…

As you wander in your curiosity, I run into the culvert
To close the distance between living & death
Now it is you who decides your fate…
I smiled, cos’ you just crossed the gates

As your nose & ears twitch, to know what’s lurking
You peer into the hollow, where my stalking form resides
That look on your face – staring into my eye…
That frozenness of the moment – I live, you die…

As my sinews gather steam to bear on you
The lunge of death’s angel propels me on…
As you dash, hurtling up to survive
I’ve gathered speed, none the wise…

In the final moment, as I strike you down
The claw trips you and fangs find your neck
I release you as your warm blood flows free
Your fate so definite, my meal to be…

- Raghavendran Kandaswami -

She was the one we were so keen to see since the winter - Pedwali, famously called for her last known fondness to climb trees. Taking away from her mother that heart of Corbett called Sambar Road, she is known to be a bold and very charming tigress.

We had had a tryst with the Grassland family that morning, so the enthusiasm was quite high after the rendezvous with three tigers. We had headed only further up a few minutes, when we came upon Pedwali, keenly watching deer from behind the bushes. Since the area was an open area with some water, it was very unlikely that she could sustain a charge from where she lay hidden. Her only chance was, if a deer were to find itself close to the nallah, where she could lay waiting - if she manages to break cover unseen for a small stretch. So many uncontrollable variables existed, and hence the likelihood of a hunt was low. A hunt thus, seemed impossible - but for a tiger’s will.

She was particularly interested in a barking deer that had moved closer to her, although on the other side. The barking deer had mostly picked her scent, but was unsure since it could not locate the tigress. Pedwali decided to break cover and hide in the nallah. She stealthily crawled forward and dashed ahead into the culvert as soon as the deer got busy with the grass. Now all she had to do was wait it out.

The barking deer’s curiosity was getting the better of it and it started stepping into the nallah. As it peered into the darkness, it must have seen the first charge of blazing flames towards it. The deer dashed backwards knowing it was its only chance. The sambar next to it, couldn’t even see what dashed past it. It was so paralyzed at the sight of the tigress charging out of the nallah, she couldn’t even belch an alarm for the others.

Pedwali, however, was firm in her sights, and at blazing speed she followed the barking deer in its tracks. After dashing across the road, all it took was a tap on the deer back to bring it down. Once down, the fangs pierced the neck, as both were engulfed in thick dust in the thickets, due to the sudden break in speed.

The hunt was over – the tigress had earned her meal…

21 Apr 2022, Corbett Tiger Reserve, Ramnagar, Uttarakhand