The King of Tadoba and a Catwalk

It was our second day at TATR and we were on a morning safari into the core area through the Moharli gate. It was about 7:30 and we had stopped to watch the antics of a group of monkeys as they climbed up and down a tree, jumped from one tree to another.


A jeep was coming towards us from the opposite direction. As usual, we asked them if they spotted anything back there. Yeah, they said. There’s a tiger sitting by the pond. Monkeys can be seen another time, but this tiger cannot wait until later. We drove at maximum speed limit- 30kmph. We drove to the pond that they were talking about. Another guide told us that the tiger was sitting by the pond but at a little lower level. We tried standing up on the seats to get a sight of him, but it didn’t work.


But then a flash of fierce orange was caught under the sun from behind the bush. Everyone got their cameras ready. Next a head peeped from behind the bush, as though he was shy to face the audience. Slowly, part by part, his whole body emerged. And there he was. Mowgli, the king of Tadoba. As huge and majestic as ever. He walked around the high banks, slowly and with heavy footsteps. His charisma, unmatched. He exuded royalty, walking and swaying like the king he is. His gaze, absolutely fearless. His big paws leaving behind marks, proudly claiming this territory as his. No one could tell that this was the same tiger that was shy to come out of its resting spot! He did his leisure walk around the same spot for about 2 minutes, and then went into the water. He swam to the other side of the pond, climbed up and disappeared behind a cluster of bamboo trees. Although we got to watch him only for about 5 minutes, he’s going to be the topic of our conversations at mealtimes for days to come.



We then drove a little further down the trail. And that’s when we saw jeeps crowded at a particular place. We rushed forward to see what it was that they had seen. And there we saw Tigress Choti Tara, the daughter of Tigress Tara. She was walking at her own pace on the road, and wasn’t willing to give space for the jeeps to go ahead. The guide then told us that this is an adorable habit of hers. He said the last time some jeeps had spotted her, they spent one hour watching her from behind as she walked down the road. She continued doing her catwalk down the path for over 10 minutes. We clicked a few pics, but then had to rush back to the entry gate as our safari time was almost up.


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