Past Forward: Catching Tiger by the tale

At a time when the media – print and electronic – are filled with depressing reports of rape, murder, scams and slugfests among the politicians, the recent instance of villagers rescuing tiger cubs from wild dogs in the Nallamala forests comes as a refreshingly heartening development. The wildlife officials have taken the little ones under their loving care and are scouring the forests for the mother tiger.

After a long lapse of time, tiger continues to be sighted in Kawal sanctuary in the undivided Adilabad district. Tiger sightings in the Nallamalas were rare in recent times, but latest reports from Nandyal indicate a positive sign that the lord of the jungle is thriving.

In my younger days as a journalist, I had toured all forest areas in the undivided Andhra Pradesh. It is another thing that I had not sighted the elusive animal in his natural habitat. Visits to the zoo were a poor compensation. All the same, on account of the jungle stories I have read, heard, reported or woven myself, apart from my hobnobbing with prominent wildlife officials, I have acquired the dubious distinction of being 'an authority.' In a manner of speaking, I had caught many a tiger by the tale, if not the tail.

As a correspondent to a reputed newspaper based at Kurnool 45 years ago, I felt fascinated by the splendor of the Nallamalas. Tiger sightings were not uncommon. The Chief Secretary of the day travelling to Srisailam found the ghat road blocked by 'His Highness' and waited until the king moved away. Pilgrims travelling by bus reported seeing tiger in the ghat section.

I was reporting departmental operations near Nandyal when the Chenchus labourers raised hue and cry. A tiger had just darted past them without attacking. All I could see during two nights and three days in the forests was a rabbit!

V Poli Reddy, who was divisional forest officer at the time, said during his long stint at Atmakur he had not spotted one while the additional chief conservator of forests, Subba Rao, driving to Srisailam found the tiger and panther twice near Bairluty. Some luck. One of the tigers in the Nehru zoo park in Hyderabad was unique – it had no stripes on one side, but was very ferocious and refused to get used to the cloistered environment. He was rarely put on display. Known as Atmakur tiger, it entered the cattle shed of a farmer who shrewdly locked the shed and alerted the forest staff. The monster was shifted to the zoo. In a mad rage, the caged animal tried to pounce on our photographer when he moved too close.

Tigers those days were said to sunbathe on the platform of the forlorn Chelama railway station which is located in the thick forest, making it a daunting task for the rail men to work. Hardly any train stops there now, though.

The year was 1928 and the place forest guest house at Iskagundam in Gundlabrahmeswaram (GBM) forests. Rao Sahib KR Venkataramana Iyer, Conservator of Forests, was working by the candle light when he heard sound of breathing and a heaving object right under his feet. It was a tiger. He smartly tiptoed out of the room and bolted it. The first shot missed the mark and instead blew the candle. His men then climbed the thatched roof, cut a hole and shot the intruder using a torch.

A comical-cum-serious drama was enacted by the wildlife DFO in Achampet division some 40 years ago. A curious a health worker accompanied the DFO deep into the wild. He became anxious as he noticed strange movements on both sides of the track. The group relaxed on the side of a running stream when the DFO entertained his friend mimicking how mother tiger calls its young. The growl was obviously so authentic that a tiger, in flesh and blood, appeared , scaring them to death. The experienced DFO quickly recovered his wits and ordered others to jump into the waters and scream nonstop until their lungs burst. The mob cacophony rattled the tiger swimming towards them. Meanwhile, three cubs appeared on the scene. Finding its young safe, the tiger withdrew into the wild.

The Nallamalas are unquestionably nature lover's paradise. Its beauty is immortalized in the works of famous shikar and author Kenneth Anderson titled 'Assassins of Diguvametta' and 'Black Panther of Sivanipalli.' I recorded these experiences in a coffee table book 'The Nallamalas – Emerald Paradise' I authored for the Andhra Pradesh Government.