Mudamalai Part Three: Animal Encounters

First off, I apologize for my long absence. I realized I left off over a month ago, but the return to the ‘real world’ and work has been all-consuming as of late and even though this blog is a publication of my travel journal it still takes time to edit.

(If you wish to refresh your memory you can refer back to Mudamalai Part 1 & Mudamalai Part 2)

So back to where I left off….

After encountering Tiger Poo, we combed the general vicinity for tracks and then decided to cross a canal that led us over a meandering river.  We climbed a steep slope and once at the top decided to pause here for a light snack.  The chattier of our two guides, showed us his scars as he recounted a leopard attack, which he miraculous survived by fighting off the large jungle cat with nothing more than his bare hands.

The others continued to chat as I pulled out the food from my pack. I was concentrated on peeling an orange and distinctly heard a low deep growl in the distance. I suspected it might be a Tiger since the tracks we found were apparently only a few hours old (how our guide knew that I have no idea). Shawn and Jo were chattering away and didn’t notice so I interrupted one of our guides, who said it was definitely and I quote: “a hungry Tiger.”

As we continued on after lunch, we stalked quietly through a field of tall dry grass and sparsely plotted trees and I thought to myself that if we were to be attacked by a Tiger this would be the spot! The yellow burnt grass was so tall that you wouldn’t even see it coming until it was too late. I have a vivid imagination that sometimes scares me so I tried to put this thought out of my mind.

To see a tiger in the wild is extremely rare. There are only 44 left in the Nilgiri reserve, of which Mudamalai is a part. The reserve covers three provinces so you can imagine how rare an actual sighting is.

Anywho, caring on…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We approached the steep bank of a river and walked along it single file. You couldn’t really see much due to the low shrubs and tall grass along the bank’s edge. I paused to take a picture of the group who were walking single file in front of me. Suddenly, there was a loud crashing sound and a deep echoing roar. Adrenaline immediately took over and I sprinted away from the edge of the river and ran behind a tree… a puny tree at that! Upon hearing splashing in the river below, I realized that the animal was more startled by us and was fleeing. So I grabbed my camera and rushed towards the banks edge in time to see a humongous Tiger splashing through the river and running up the bank on the other side!!! The sight of this truly magnificent and majestic animal took my breath away. I was in awe. The beautiful creature paused and arced his head around in order to stare back at us. The Tiger stood still and immobile for about 30 seconds before turning slowly back around and lumbering slowly up the rest of the bank and into the heavy thick brush. It was a perfect moment!

After the beautiful beast was no longer in sight, the entire group of us burst out in excited cheers and ecstatic exclamations. Our two guides were perhaps even happier than we were! Both men, having lived in and around the park their entire lives, had surprisingly had no prior encounters with the ferocious felines.

We stood at the banks edge, staring unbelievably across at the spot where the Tiger had disappeared back into the brush. It was a moment that is likely burnt into my memory forever and I didn’t want to wake from it. But we eventually pressed on. There were other great moments throughout the rest of the day, but nothing I can say now can top that story.

So I’ll let it sink in… till next time.