Social bonding of Gaurs (Bibos gauris)
It was the incident of year-end of 2008. An old aged Gaur (Indian Bison) was attacked by tiger on his rump. It was bleeding profusely which made the Gaur fall down. The tiger sat down in front of him and was waiting for him to die as an injured Gaur becomes more dangerous. Due to severe pain and in-ability of stand-up, Gaur was groaning loudly and kept on attempting to stand up. Hearing the groaning call of the Gaur, a near-by herd of Gaurs reached the spot where the tiger was still present. Young Gaurs charged onto the tiger and pushed him away from site of the injured Gaur. As the news of such an attack spread among theforest guards and through them to safari jeeps, many tourist jeeps started reaching the spot, with expectations of a tiger-sighting. The park management feared crowding at the location and banned the safari jeeps from entering that particular site for a few days. It was observed that the herd of those Gaurs remained there till the death of the injured Gaur. As soon as they left the place, the tiger that had attacked the Gaur, came back to claim his meal.
How Kanha got its name
There are various stories about how Kanha got its name. Some believe that its name is derived from Kanhar, a clayey soil found in the area. Others believe that there was a holy saint called Kanva who lived in this area and the word 'Kanha' , is inspired from his name.
Shravan Kumar
Shravan Kumar's tale is described in the great Indian epic 'Ramayana'. It is the holy book of Hindus. Shravan Kumar was the only son of his blind parents. As in old-age, Hindus go for pilgrimage, and Shravan’s parents also wished to do same. Shravan Kumar took them on a pilgrimage. He was passing through the forests of Kanha when King Dashratha, father of Lord Rama, came there on an hunting expedition.
While passing through forest of Kanha, Shravan’s parents asked Shravan to fetch some drinking water for them as they were feeling thirsty. Shravan went to a near-by water tank, now known as “Shravan Tal” and dipped a pitcher into the lake, which resulted in a particular gurgling sound. King Dashratha was on his machaan and looking for an animal to kill. Dashratha had expertise in shooting at the source of sound without viewing it. In darkness, Dashratha heard the sound produced from pitcher, and assuming it to be a deer drinking water, he shot towards the source of sound and killed Shravan.
On hearing Shravan's cry, Dashratha rushed to the spot where Shravan was breathing his last. Shravan requested Dashratha to deliver water to his thirsty parents as they were waiting for him. When Dashratha offered water to them and gave the tragic news of their son's death to them, they refused the accept the water and cursed the King that he too would suffer the pain of child separation as they have suffered and they (Shravan’s parents) too died , on the spot.
As per legend, “Shravan Tal” in Kanha is the place where Shravan went to fetch water to his parents. There is a place called, “Shravan Chita” where dead-body of Shravan was cremated. Similarly, there is place called “Dashratha Machaan” from which King Dashratha shot down Shravan mistaking him for a deer.
Dying to save a deer
It is the story of a forest guard of Kanha National Park who laid down his life while trying to save a Chital from drowning down in a water pool. The name of that forest guard is Ravibhan Singh Thakur, age 32 years, posted in Chhawarighat Camp of Supkhar Range of Kanha Tiger Reserve. He was popularly known by the name of Ravi among his friends & colleagues.
Ravi was very disciplined and hard working. He belonged to one of the surrounding villages of Kanha. It was the month of March , in the year 1989. After completing his routine patrol, Ravi had just returned to his camp. In the mean time, a truck came from road just next to the patrol camp and the truck-driver informed Ravi about the a Chital who was trapped among water weeds and struggling for life in nearby Peeparwada water pool. In no time Ravi reached the spot on his bicycle and left a written message at the patrol camp wall, using a piece of charcoal .
Ravi reached the Peeparwada water pool and found the chital badly trapped in water weeds. Chetal had almost drowned and was trying desperately to breathe and get released from the mesh. Ravi knew swimming, so in no time he took off his clothes and dived into the tank. Soon he realized that the tank was badly infested with weeds and swimming is such circumstances was very difficult. He reached the animal and tried hard to lift him a little bit higher so that he could manage to breathe. He got initial success in his efforts but soon he realized that his own legs were inextricably entangled in the weed-mesh. He tried hard to free himself from the killer web of weeds but all his efforts were in vain.
This incident has revealed the promising work done by the frontline staff of Kanha Tiger Reserve. Ravi’s wife is now a forest guard in the Kanha National Park.
Man-eater of Bhilwani
It was an incident during the months between December 1974 and March 1975. A man-eating tiger of Bhilwani had killed four people during this period. In initial attempts, the tiger attacked pet animals like cattle, pigs etc. It did injure humans, though only accidentally. Following the sequence of attacks, he killed a man roaming in the forest. As the villagers did not dare to take the body away from site, tiger devoured the body and acquired a taste for the human flesh. He killed three bullocks successively but due to human interference, he never managed to eat them. In desperation, the tiger then attacked another man.
After a long duration, a village boy discovered the dead-body of the Bhilwani man-eating tiger with broken ribs and marks of gun-shot which looked many months old. The gun-shot wounds restricted the tiger from killing his natural prey and hence he started attacking village cattle & human beings- looking for an easy prey.
Bansi and the tiger
Bansi, a seasoned tiger tracker and a Baiga tribal from a local village close to Kanha National Park ; had a life threatening encounter. One morning, while monitoring a waterhole in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Bansi ran into sub-adult tiger cub. The young tiger charged on him. Bansi ran from the site in no time and scrambled up a tree but the tiger continued to charge and did not leave the place.
At this moment, a large tigress roared from behind. She was with two more cubs. Bansi was trembling with fear. Though to Bansi's relief, the tigress called her young ferocious cubs back. When he was sure that the tiger, had departed, Bansi slid down the tree and returned to his camp immediately to feel free to breathe again.
