जंगल डायरी Jangal Diary (Jungle Diary)

२७ मे १९९७ रोजी सकाळी लेखक कोळसा परिसरातील विश्रामगृहातून बाहेर पडतात. वनरक्षक व वनमजुरासोबत झरी रस्त्याने जाताना समोर एका मोठ्या बिबळ्याच्या ताज्या पावलखुणा दिसतात. थोड्याच वेळात लेखकाला बांबूत लपलेला बिबळा दिसतो, पण वनरक्षकाच्या पायाखाली काटकी वाजताच बिबळा जागा होऊन क्षणात जंगलात नाहीसा होतो.

On the morning of 27 May 1997, the author sets out from the rest house in the Kolsa range at dawn. Walking along the Zari trail with a forest guard and a fellow forest worker, they suddenly spot the fresh pugmarks of a large male leopard on the path. Soon after, the author spots through binoculars a leopard hidden in bamboo under a tendu tree, its colour blending so perfectly with the surroundings that only the twitch of its tail gives it away. But at that very moment the guard's foot snaps a dry twig, and the sharp-eared leopard vanishes into the forest in a single leap, costing the author a good chance to observe it.

बिबळ्याची संधी गमावल्यावर लेखक पुढे निघतात व रायबाकडे जाणाऱ्या दाट जंगलात शिरतात. आदल्या दिवशी वनरक्षकाकडून चार पिल्लांसह असलेल्या वाघिणीबद्दल कळलेले असते. उन्हाळ्याचे दिवस असल्याने वाघीण पाण्याजवळच वावरत असावी असा त्यांचा अंदाज असतो. नाल्यातील ओलसर चिखलात मांजरापेक्षा मोठ्या आकाराची अनेक पावले दिसतात, जी पिल्लांची असल्याचे व ती काल रात्रीचीच असल्याचे लेखकाच्या लक्षात येते.

Disappointed by the missed leopard sighting, the author moves on as the trail toward Raiba turns right and the forest grows denser, thick with two or three streambeds holding a little water, raising the chance of spotting wildlife. The previous evening, the guard had mentioned a tigress with four cubs in this very area, and in the fierce summer heat she cannot roam far from water with such young cubs. A tigress with small cubs is the most dangerous animal in the forest, so a quiet unease settles over the author on stepping into the dry streambed. Within a few steps, several pawprints larger than a cat's appear in the damp mud, and the author recognizes them as the cubs' own tracks from the previous night, confirming the tigress is still moving through this area with her cubs.

पाणवठा जवळ येताच लेखकाचे हृदय धडधडू लागते व घसा कोरडा पडतो. सर्वजण सावधपणे, आवाज न करता पुढे सरकतात. अचानक नाल्यापलीकडून एक बारीक आवाज येतो, तो वाघिणीचा असल्याचे लेखकाच्या अनुभवी कानांना कळते. लगेच एक पिल्लू पाण्यात उडी घेते आणि त्याच्या मागोमाग बाकीची तीन पिल्लेही धपाधप पाण्यात उतरतात.

As the waterhole draws nearer, the author's heart pounds and his throat runs dry with a mix of anticipation and fear, and the others feel no different. Everyone signals caution to one another with their eyes, flinching even at the rustle of leaves in the breeze, and creeps forward with extreme care. Suddenly a faint sound comes from across the streambed and a chill runs down the author's spine, a year of field experience tells him instantly that it is the tigress's call, summoning her cubs. Almost at once comes a splash, and a cub leaps straight into the water from the bushes nearby, followed swiftly by the other three cubs tumbling in one after another, the mother's reassuring call seeming to fill them with excitement.

वाघीण रात्रभर शिकारीसाठी फिरून आलेली असते व आता पाण्याजवळ विश्रांती घेते. पिल्लांचा उत्साह मात्र उधाणलेला असतो, एक पिल्लू तर तिच्या पाठीवर उडी मारते पण घसरून पाण्यात पडते. सुमारे पाच महिन्यांची ही पिल्ले कुत्र्याएवढी असून एकमेकांशी खेळ, पाठलाग व पाण्यात उड्या मारण्यात मग्न असतात. काही वेळाने वाघीण उठून हाक देते व पिल्लांना घेऊन जंगलात नाहीशी होते.

Having spent the night hiding her cubs in dense bushes while she hunted, the tigress now sits by the water, weary, resting, yet the sight of their mother sends the cubs into a burst of excitement. One cub even leaps onto her back but slips and lands in the water with a splash, drawing a low growl of disapproval from her, though the cubs pay it no mind and their boisterous play continues. Roughly five months old and smaller than a dog, they play the way young children do, chasing one another, mock-fighting, and leaping into the water, while the mother occasionally pauses to lick one of them affectionately. After a while she rises, gives a soft call as a signal to follow, and soon the whole family vanishes into the forest. This encounter reveals to the author a rare glimpse of the caring, watchful mother hidden within a tigress, an experience that adds real value to his years of studying tigers.