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The sigh of the tiger

Now you see it, now you don't. The tiger can be an elusive creature, presenting itself at will, as Amy Fernandes discovered at the Nagarhole Reserve

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(Clockwise) At the edge of the forest at The Serai: the feisty elephant in a parched landscape; Oasis in the woods
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It was going to be an exciting day. Nagarhole National Park with its boast of having the largest population of 84 tigers in any one habitation in India had boosted our optimism no end. In the morning at a leisurely breakfast at The Serai Kabini, with fluffed omelettes and flat, crispy dosas, several people boasted tiger sightings. Our chances moved from medium to high.              

Dotting the area are various camps and resorts. Ours, The Serai Kabini, is a beautiful property located on the banks of the Kabini River, a relaxed five-hour drive from Bangalore. With 20-villa-and-verandah suite of rooms and irresistible offers that include weekend stays with meals included, as it rightly should, the resort is a luxurious oasis in the forest. Because, while it is situated in the Karapura village, really it is on the periphery of the forest area between Bandipur and Nagarhole, two of the richest National Parks spanning 580sqm at the foothills of the Western Ghats. You can spend an evening on a sunset river cruise or nestled at a bonfire (great in winter, dispensable in the summer); the days are full of activity such as cycling, bird watching, or kayaking when the river is rich. But the plum excursion is the Nagarhole wildlife safari, which if you miss, is like missing the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Summer renders the landscape parched and arid. The river nearly dries up. The forest is brittle with heat, but it is the best time for sightings, animals come to the rapidly depleting watering holes to slake their thirst. We set out in a convoy of coaches against this scorched backdrop to find a streak of tigers. Our chatter is called to a hush by our guide. "Listen,'' he says. We do, to the unfamiliar sound of an elephant's trumpet. As the coach trundles on, a very assertive young elephant watches as we draw up to eye level. He stares at us, unblinking and in a second, charges at us, stopping short at just a few inches from the coach. Our city-slicker hearts are in our mouths as we shriek and yell for help, while the guide casually informs us, "That was a mock charge." Lesson No 1: Never take an elephant for granted.

A few metres away is a startling sight of a large herd of deer, grazing nervously. A few yards away a mother wild boar leads her sucklings into a bush. With one ear ticking away in anticipation of a growl, we spot a few Malabar giant squirrels, who unlike their smaller agile cousins, prefer to shift weight one day at a time. The coach brakes suddenly, to give right of way to a deadly python who regardless of the oncoming traffic glides across the clearing unhurriedly. This is wonderful wildlife indeed, but where were the tigers! The guide held up his hand again for silence, this time to a distinct howl of an animal. "It's the warning call of the deer to its herd, when it senses danger,'' he says. Our adrenalin was shooting up. To our left we see a huge herd fleeing by in the opposite direction of the sound. A sambar or two are seen hurriedly ambling away. We're expecting the tigers or at least one, to emerge any minute. The minutes stretch to five, then seven, then ten, till someone in the group decided to scan the other side we have been ignoring so far. All of a sudden there's a screeching whisper. "Look at these pug marks!'' he says. We rush over to the right side and behold there are mighty foot prints! But where was the tiger?

In our delirium to spot him on the left, the soft-padded creature had evidently come in from the bushes, checked us out from a few yards and deciding we were not worth his dinner, strode off back into the deep. That was the story his pug marks told us. Lesson No 2: Never turn your back on a tiger.

That evening back at the Serai, feline tales abound, as groups exchanged their stories and when we went back to the extravagant comfort of our beds that night, we heard the warning call again, from afar. The tiger was at dinner.

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