A live hunt on safari

Satpura Tiger Reserve, home to an impressive array of fauna and flora is a retreat into a massive 1500sq km of mixed deciduous forests located amongst the Satpura Range of mountains in southern Madhya Pradesh. The popular, panoramic hill town of Panchmarhi lies within the reserve and so does Dhoopgarh, the tallest peak in Central India. The less known Madhai gate, lying in the foothill region, is the area with all the wildlife action. This part of the park is celebrated for its numerous sloth bears and luring leopards.

This write-up is centered on a male leopard Neelu, fondly named by the local guides at Madhai in lieu of his striking eye colour. Neelu and his brother Peelu are currently the two most sighted cats within the park. We’ve seen them grow over the last two and a half years from shy and vulnerable cubs into dauntless and daring young adults, often curiously parading around jeeps. From play fighting to rolling a pangolin around, from being chased by bears to playing I-spy with a sounder of boar, they never fail to put up a fabulous show, giving one the feeling of watching a documentary; only live.

One morning as we accompanied our respective guests into the park, I asked the usual question, “so what is it that you want to see today?” and my guests promptly answered “A kill, cats mating or little cubs”. Well, I obviously said nothing to that. Game viewing is only by chance, luck or whatever you’d like to call it. I just smiled hopelessly and asked the driver to take a particular route along the river. We soon managed to find a bear with two little cubs on her back. She then started frantically digging the ground for termites as the tiny fur-balls rolled around. My guests were thrilled and my smiles had turned from hopeless to glee. As we continued driving to our breakfast spot after that fantastic encounter, we saw a jeep parked by the road. They were drawn there following a loud cry. An injured Gaur calf and its alarmed mother stood close by. There was no sign of a predator for a while though, until we spotted Neelu well camouflaged amongst low bushes on the opposite side. A visual treat was almost inevitable as we decided to wait just as patiently as Neelu did.

After licking clean the wounds on the calf, the tired mother wandered into the thickets to feed. The little one didn’t stand much of a chance anymore, it could barely move. Its demise seemed definite. We were sure Neelu would take it down; it was only a question of time now. Soon few other jeeps lined up and excitement filled the air, but nothing seemed to disrupt Neelu. He took small, cautious steps towards the calf, looking for the mother every now and then. Sure not to have seen her for a while, Neelu grabbed the calf by the neck, quickly pulling it down to the ground. The mud beneath was turning a soggy red as the calf tried in vain to escape. The veiling soon brought the fuming mother scrambling out of the woods, hurling towards Neelu. You bet he ran for his life! It was too late though. The calf was badly hurt and did not survive too long after. Most were plain spell-bound while some of us were puzzled. It was the first time we were witnessing in broad daylight, a leopard ambush its prey in the open, especially with so many people around. I was torn between being sad for a helpless calf and happy about our little leopards having grown brave and strong to fend for themselves.

However brutal this feature might sound, the rule of the jungle remains. The fittest survive. Satpura Tiger Reserve is rapidly gaining recognition for all the game that it promises, as we look forward to more action this season. After all Satpura never fails to surprise us!