Her Lost Prince…

I will always be there for you.
You will never be alone.
I will be that candle in the window,
So you can always find your way back home.

I will be the sun in the sky
To brighten up your day,
I will be the moon shining above,
So in the dark you can find your way.

- Adapted from Spark Lloyne's "I Will Be" -

Seema (Border) Line is that divisive fencing that separates civilization from the wild. At the tiger fortress of Bandhavgarh, this line across the periphery of the forest is home to many tigresses. It borders numerous villages and cultivated fields with grazing cattle found regularly in its grounds.

One such long stretch of Seema Line was controlled by one of the oldest tigresses of Bandhavgarh - The Banbehi Female. Having had the privilege to see every litter until now of this pale coated female, it was but natural that we set our eyes on her new family at this time, a time when her cubs were only around four months old. 

Controlling a vast territory, finding her is sometimes hard, given her long arduous terrain that runs over hills and culverts, valleys and villages. But, hope is a miracle finder. While driving around Seema Line, we found her on the road one early morning, only to realise that she had moved the cubs across Seema Line into the park the previous night and was taking them back out. One shot across the road right in the front of me, while the female in one big leap, cleared the seven foot fencing.

Alas! the one tiny tot was stranded on this side of the fence, since it could not locate the fence cut through which it had come in. So, here we were with a terrified prince, with the queen having hopped away to the other side.

He Spat... He Growled... Not the meowing of a cat, but a full throat wild beast, making his displeasure felt about the situation; sometimes hiding when the mother would walk away from closer to the fence; and acting the courageous prince with a snarl when she would come closer to him.

He kept moving along the fence and we kept our distance so she could come in and take him away. She, the queen has been a mother to many. And knowing that the forest department staff was cutting away at the fencing to allow the her to cross over, she chose to wait it out, rather than clear the fence again. After all, her intelligence told her that a cut in the fence will be permanent and easier for her to move the cubs towards the villages easily.

Once, the fencing was cut, she made her way to the opening and as she came out of it and wandered to the road, the cub came out openly, knowing he was now in safe hands. Mothers after all, they know how to calm their young…

08 Jan 2019, Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, Umaria, Madhya Pradesh