A Tigress, A Hunt, and an Unforgettable Morning

It was quiet. Almost too quiet.

We were deep into Kanha jungle’s quieter reaches, winding through woodlands bathed in the soft, golden light of early sunrise. Sunbeams filtered through the Sal trees while the meadows shimmered like wheat fields in the wind. We passed a pond that changed colour with the rising sun — algae on its surface transforming from green to red as daylight poured in.

We were on a morning safari that began like any other day, but what unfolded in the next few hours turned the ordinary into the unforgettable.

At a forest intersection, we spotted signs: fresh pugmarks — one male, one female — and a damp patch that suggested a tiger had been sitting there moments before. Maybe a mating pair? Just as the thought formed, other jeeps zipped past, clearly on the same trail. We decided to pivot to avoid a crowd, instead heading towards another intersection where a tigress and her cubs are known to roam.

Crossing a narrow bridge, we paused for a moment to take in the still waters mirroring a row of majestic Sal trees. That peaceful image was the calm before the storm.

Suddenly, alarm calls of spotted deer erupted to our right — clear, sharp, insistent. Something was moving. We waited, holding our breath as the calls continued for 15 minutes. Then we nudged just a little ahead, about 200 metres.

There she was!

Emerging from a wall of lantana, the tigress stepped onto the road. Thin, yet radiating strength. She barely glanced at our vehicle, her eyes fixed ahead, her gait steady and determined.

Then, movement.

A male sambar appeared from the right, caught sight of her, and bolted into the woods on the left. Without missing a beat, the tigress darted into the undergrowth, not exactly following the deer’s path, but flanking him on his left.

We held our breath again.

The forest hushed. Seconds passed like hours. Then, a crash — the unmistakable sound of a chase reaching its climax.

Through the gaps in the undergrowth, we saw the tigress pinning the sambar to the forest floor, her jaw locked around his throat. His antlers flailed wildly before going still. She had done it. A clean, successful hunt. In the dense Indian jungles, that’s a rarity, and a privilege, to witness.

Panting, she began dragging her prize into the woods. The sambar was large, and she paused often to catch her breath. Still awestruck by what we witnessed, we turned away, leaving the tigress to her meal and her solitude.

The rest of our safari passed in that buzzing silence that fills a void. Our minds were still back there — in the undergrowth, under the trees, with the tigress.

It’s moments like these that zap you alive, when you’re witness to something so primitive and untamed.

The next time you’re out there, know that there’s such a story waiting in the wild for you.