Band of Brothers…

Saddled with you for the afternoon, me and Paul
ambled across the threadbare field to the bus stop,
talking over Sheffield Wednesday’s chances in the cup
while you skipped beside us in your ridiculous tank-top,
spouting six-year-old views on Rotherham United.

Suddenly you froze, said you hadn’t any bus fare.
I sighed, said you should go and ask Mum
and while you windmilled home, I looked at Paul.
His smile, like mine, said I was nine and he was ten
and we must stroll the town, doing what grown-ups do.

As a bus crested the hill we chased Olympic Gold.
Looking back I saw you spring towards the gate,
your hand holding out what must have been a coin.
I ran on, unable to close the distance I’d set in motion.

- Adapted from Andrew Forster's "Brothers" -

The Grassland cubs are near grown-ups... Closing two-years, these cubs are increasing beginning to explore ground around their mother's territory on their own. The dominant one generally stays alone, sometimes spending time with the other two.

The mother clearly seems to be distancing from them, observed with the reality that she didn't fetch them to the elephant carcass, while she happily tore into it, despite it being a good meal for four. Alternatively, it could also be that, since it was in her daughter's territory, she was keeping these sub-adults, out of harm's way from her daughter.

While the elephant carcass was buried by the department, for good or bad reasons, it was natural to assume that the tigress will come back to where the carcass was, the following morning. Hence, all cars decided to head towards the grassland, whereas we decided to head into sambar road. While into the road, a small diversion swerves right towards a waterhole, and hence we decided to check it out. As the vehicle took the initial leap towards higher ground, I saw a pea-fowl fly up to the trees, on the road further on sambar road. Knowing that means something, we decided to check the waterhole and head further on sambar road.

All it took was a swerve back on the sambar road, and there they were... All three, sprawled out on the road, lazily. Being the only vehicle present, we kept our distance, and ensured that they stayed comfortable, so we get adequate time with them.

It was nearly fifteen minutes before the first car arrived, and finally, by the time the second car came in, they decided it was time to move on, while we had had our fill with them. As the second one got up to leave, we realised that the second and the third were so well co-ordinated that they even step the same foot together as if in rhythm on a ramp.

The last took his time… As we headed up knowing they are headed for the waterhole, the first two on the adjacent road ran at first sight of our vehicle into the fireline, and we got another wonderful moment of two tigers running in symphony with their hing legs up.

The third clearly is the dominant brother and seems to be the one to establish himself quicker than the other two. With no sense of alarm or fear, he appeared and walked with the gait of a male tiger beginning to assert himself, perhaps one day to claim his title on these lands...

21 Apr 2022, Corbett Tiger Reserve, Ramnagar, Uttarakhand