National Geographic: Land of the Tiger Page #4

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The heat, the dry streams,

the brittle bleached grasses,

the aridity of eight virtually

rainless months

have disappeared at one stroke.

After the monsoon's first days of rain

the sun briefly reappears.

Kanha has been transformed,

has taken on a cloak of fresh new green.

Termites celebrate the onset on

the monsoon with mating flights.

Velvet-textured mites erupt out of

the ground and feast on the termites.

Male bullfrogs vie for the females

in duels of sound.

Life has been liberated by the rain.

Plants explode into untrammeled growth

The new lushness attracts hordes

of leaf-eating insects,

and when the caterpillars unleash

their appetites on the monsoon's bounty,

they are an effective restraint

on the new leaves.

In July, when the monsoon

is firmly established,

the chital gather on the grassland,

which soon reverberate with the sounds

and energy of their rut.

A peacock unfurls his train a symbol

for the renewal and exuberance of life

A predator other than the tiger,

and one feared by all the animals,

moves down from the hills

at this time of year,

spreading disquiet in forest

and grassland alike.

It is the Indian wild dog.

No animal is safe from these marauders

and even the mighty tiger will usually

avoid a direct confrontation.

The dogs move in packs that

may number up to 30.

though an individual wild dog

could never challenge the supremacy

of the tiger,

large packs have been known

to attack him.

During such a fight the big cat can

inflict heavy casualties.

Once a besieged tiger destroyed 12 dogs

before he himself was killed and eaten

As the younger dogs play,

they are watched by a mob

of near-hysterical chital.

The herd rushes into the forest

where the pack will soon follow.

The incapacitated are left behind.

The lush grasses lure the reclusive gaur,

or Indian bison,

out of their forest strongholds.

These are the largest wild

cattle in the world.

A large bull stands over six feet

at the shoulder

and may weight up to 2,000 pounds.

The adults have little to fear

from the tiger.

It is the calves and yearlings

that are vulnerable.

Whenever a tiger is detected,

when the cows and bulls snort

and toss their heads in threat

the big cat has no chance

of making a kill.

To the contrary, an alerted herd

can be a danger to the tiger.

At the turn of the century some 40,000

tigers stalked India's jungles.

By 1972 they numbered fewer than 2000.

This grim fact was the signal

for courageous

and far-reaching conservation efforts.

These have been so effective that

if the tiger is to survive in the wild

its best chance is now probably

in India,

in reserves like Kanha and Ranthambhor

where the tiger has already made

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