SEARCHING FOR TIGERS IN MOWGLI JUNGLE

Mowgli's jungle is in Kanha, central India, in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

Being a childhood fan of  'Junglebook', as soon as l became aware that it was possible to visit the area that Rudyard Kiplong based his well loved story on, l was determined to see a real tiger in the wild. No one is exactly sure which exact area it is, but there is a definite possibility that it was Kanha.

It is by no means easy to get there & it's not on the regular backpacking track. The bulk of the tourists are lndians from all over lndia, hoping to get a glimpse of lndia's favourite feline.

Because Madhya Pradesh has a low literacy rate, there are very few people that are educated enough to speak English. Along with the searing 45 degrees heat, l arrived feeling frayed & frustrated at the gate of the national park. A well spoken local man walked over, he had been educated in Kolkata, & asked me to checkout the rooms at his guesthouse. After the exhausting 40 hr marathon to get there, l didnt care what his rooms were like, l was just relieved to find someone who spoke English & l just needed to lie down immediately.

A half day safari costs about $100 per jeep & can carry 6 people. Choice of morning or afternoon.
We set off at daybreak, very excited & hopeful. We drove for a couple of hours past magnificent scenery full of wildlife. We saw buffaloes, deer, monkeys, peacocks, but no sight of a tiger. lt was a splendid display, a fabulous experience, but l wanted to see a tiger. Our tour ranger took us to a wildlife museum in the outer park & we were told that we had a better chance of sighting a tiger if we went by elephant. So for an extra 20 bucks we boarded an elephant & explored the jungle & grasslands in search. lt was awesome! Then suddenly the mahout spotted a tiger sleeping under a tree. OMG it was so exciting & we squealed in silent whispers. l could barely see it as the tiger was so well camouflaged in the shadowy grass. l felt very safe knowing that elephants are unafraid of tigers & tigers unafraid of elephants. We sat in respectful silence watching the tiger breathing just a few metres away. So my suggestion to try & wake up the tiger was refused with a quick wag of the mahout's head. Then we quietly elephant-walked away, the huge mass barely making a sound.

Some people never see a tiger on a safari so we were very fortunate. The tigers are endangered & their habitat is limited to national parks but the parks are well maintaining the tiger numbers that are left. There was some surprisingly positive work being done. And it was well worth the time & experience to get there.

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