Motherhood in the wild

An account of a display of affection in the wild so familiar, it tugs at the fondest of memories we make with our families

This is a story of a punishingly hot mid may summer at the Ranthambore National Park, an afternoon presented us with a wondrous sight that the scorching temperatures were all but forgotten. 

This was the interaction between Krishna, the daughter of the legendary tigress Machli and her two nearly 2 year old cubs.  Krishna was basking in the cooling waters of Ranthambore, its refuge against an agonizing and merciless heat. She bore the look of a very mature, aging tigress. There was something very somber in her eyes. There was no aggression, no fire. They were just pools of calm composure. 

Happily ignoring the swarm of noisy vans and canters that she seemed to have gotten accustomed to, she appeared perfectly restful, cooling off her uncomfortably flushed body in the waterhole.

But I presume that relaxation to her was not simply about the climate, but also about the company, for not long after, she started calling out to her cubs, and fervently so.

Now the roar of a tiger is a glorious raspy baritone sound that could rustle a wave of goosebumps on any person hearing it. But this was different. It was hauntingly beautiful.  Eyes shut and ears flat against her head, she continued to call. 

No later than a moment, two cubs emerged from the thicket, obediently responding to her summons. They slowly approached the pool to accompany their mother. But what is remarkable is that both the cubs had very different mannerisms and seemed to share very different chemistries with her.

While one cub headed straight into the pool to take a swig of water, the other one, oblivious to everything else moved directly towards his mother. In what was a display of affection so obviously present, he slowly nudged his mothers head, licked her forehead and only then did he slowly slip into the waters.

All along in the waters, this cub would not for a second leave his mother’s side. Tugging at her tail playfully, he was engaged with his mother every single minute of what we could see. He would be mischievous, he would be doting, he would shower her with affection and longingly crave her attention. His affection towards Krishna was infectious. He followed her out of the water and continued with his tomfoolery, mounting her and closing her eyes with his gigantic paws, A marvelous peek-a-boo in the wild. 

The tigress and her cubs unabashedly continued their amusing shenanigans, till a point where lowering the camera, I couldn’t help but wonder...

There are two forms and definitions of nature – one on the outside and one within and there is a world of difference between the two.

The nature outside is governed by rules that singularly aim at continuation and survival of the fittest. In this nature, the tigers would eventually go their separate ways, the sons would be exiled shortly to pave way for a new litter of cubs and thus would continue the circle of life. The cubs would use the skills that they would have learnt from their mother to survive the ruthless wild. They would hunt for themselves, mark their territories, reign and establish their command and bear and protect their offspring. In all possible likelihood, the affectionate cub may eventually exile his mother using his equation to his advantage or it could be the aloof cub that bore no attachment or perhaps, they would never cross paths again. That remains to be seen. 

But what we forget is with the nature inside; we are all but the same. Even in this gamut of cause and effect, rhyme and reason, there is still a tiny place of pure emotion with no rationale, logic or motive.

This moment we witnessed had very little to do with teaching the cubs anything that was mechanically required for them to be well equipped predators. This moment was outside and beyond this rulebook. The unexplainable difference in chemistry, the simplicity of the scene, the innocence of those emotions, the futility of this attachment– it was without purpose, unconditional, almost like the love we humans share.

This moment was one that everyone must see to know that at the end of the day, we are all the same creatures, with similar feelings of joy, pain, fear, satisfaction, contentment and love. And like us, they too would experience similar anxieties, pain and loss and no one can determine or declare the intensity of that emotion to be any different from what we humans experience. And when we look at it like this, when we go home and play the fool with our siblings or cherish the attention of our mothers… maybe just maybe, we would respect the wild a little more, conserve it a little further, protect it a little better.

#Ranthambore #tigers #tigermom #ranthamborenationalpark #rajasthan #wildlife #motherhood