TRAVEL OF A LIFETIME: "SEX IN A JUNGLE", Tadoba-andhari Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra, India

That was the second day and we had left early in the morning. The breeze though not yet hot, was mild with a scent of the forest. We knew soon the sun would rise and the entire jungle would sizzle. I heard the calls of the birds-parrot, cuckoo and myanah with the winding path creating an off the beaten track charm. All six of us including a forest officer and a forest guard were quite. The means of communication was through signs only. We felt excited in spite of previous day's despair.

We couldn't meet him yesterday. The His Majesty was elusive with many 'just misses'. Oh yes. He teased us. No sooner our jeep turned the corner, he appeared like 'a ghost who walks'. And we would see on our return his pug marks over the tyre imprints which the jeep had made some time back. Though disappointed over not been able to had an audience with the king, we were awarded with our share of enjoyment by sighting a sloth bear, few four horned antelopes, wild dogs and flying squirrels!

We nudged our vehicle on a narrow path surrounded by dried bushes to our left and moved slowly on a downward gradient. A turn. Then a sign from the forest guard the jeep stopped. The excitement rose. I had a premonition that something had to happen on that day.
Waited and waited.
From time to time the forest officer would look through his binocular towards the slope which was merging into a dried bed of a stream, may be about 150 yards from us. There were bushes and bamboo trees concealing partially our view and perhaps hiding us too.
Waited and waited.
And then through the silence of the forest came a big roar, almost knocking us down. We held our breath. My throat had suddenly gone dry. Again a roar from the stream area followed by ...aaungh...aaungh...aaungh. Soon there was an another roar towards our right. By then we were really scared. It seemed there were two tigers, one at the stream and the other moving from our right. The officer squeezed my hand and made a sign with his fingers which meant male and female. Slowly it dawned upon us that the beast at the stream was a female. a tigress and the approaching beast was a male, a tiger. I looked through my binocular. The air stopped to breath and so did we. The jungle stood still in fear, terror and respect! I could hear my heart pounding above the roar. The male walking majestically crossed the jungle 100 yards away from us towards the dried stream where the female was. Not very clearly but we could see the female moving in a small circle roaring. I believe it must be her scent or her urine she probably had spread around which had drawn him towards her. It must be strong enough for him to miss our smell, I thought shivering with excitement rather than a fear!

Soon he was near her. The roar by then had turned into snarling and snapping. The tiger watched her. She sat on her belly. He moved quickly over her. In between, their vocalization continued. The male had arched back and she had shifted her hind quarters as if to help him in his insane exploration. He growled and then rammed! The thrusts continued with some sort of sounds. May be for few minutes... we didn't know. The the tiger took hold of the skin over her neck and then there was a big roar! Was it an ecstasy of an orgasm? We didn't know! The tiger got up. She turned, roared and started attacking him (or scratching him?). Soon, she was on her belly again and then again... and then again...my God!!!

For me it was an overwhelming moment. That would last for forever- in the memory, in the heart!

It was tiger's domain and we were intruders. So we left quietly respecting the nature.
Suddenly in a flash I was a six year old kid who used to feel a strange pleasure in seeing without being seen. Under a sofa watching people's feet, on a terrace in the night behind a door or when through the window of the bed room I watched my uncle naked on the top of my aunt.

We had picked up Tadoba-andhari Tiger Reserve, a tropical deciduous forest, bang in the center of India in the state of Maharashtra because it was not prominent on the wild life tourist map of India. It offered one of the finest chances of spotting a tiger and boasts of 35 tigers in a smaller area compared to its bigger and famous cousins like Corbett Tiger Reserve not very far from Delhi, Ranthambhore in Rajasthan or Kanha in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The only 'Reserve' where the population of tigers have remained constant.
There are forest rest houses and a youth hostel. A museum with projection facilities for the visitors. A mini bus to take you around in the reserve. They also arrange for the nature's trail. Great!

Tadoba-andhari Tiger Reserve is an exotic hidden jewel.

Route:
By air: From Mumbai or Delhi- daily flight to the city of Nagpur then by road to via the city of Chandrapur to Tadoba-andhari Tiger Reserve. Flt time to Nagpur 45 minuted then by road 3 hrs. Distance from Nagpur-145 km
By train: to Chandrapur then by taxi to Tadoba-andhari 45 km
For bookings: A/ call field officer: 91-712-2528953 or web site/contact- Maharashtra tourism; http://www.maharashtratourism.gov.in