post tiger

Greetings Obamaites } } } } } } As I write this we must just be hours after the transfer of Government power. Her in India, all the people want to talk about is our new president, and do I think he will be strong in his dealings with Pakistan. The Indians are very angry with the Pakistanis. They have been attacked 4 times and they are about fed up with their neighbors actions. You must remember that until the mid-forties Pakistan and India were just India. It is like if the south had separated from the u.s. in 1860 and then sent terrorists across the border to kill New Yorkers, they are racially the same people, which makes it that much more charged. But enough of politics....................................... So when we last met I was on my way to another safari to try and spot a Tiger. This is what happened....................... We were on the afternoon safari 2:30 to 5:30 only. We had been out for about 2hrs with nothing but Spotted Deer and other mundane wildlife when the driver stopped to pee,(it must be noted that we passengers are not allowed to step one foot out of the jeep at any time) so he goes behind a big rock when the guide hears the alarm bark of a Barking Deer (I think I told you that the monkeys also will give a warning cry, very distinct, when a tiger is in the neighborhood) the driver comes sprinting out from behind the rock jumps into the jeep and we speed toward the sound of the bark, about 500 yards over the crest of a hill. Up ahead is another jeep with all the passengers standing and pointing up the hill. We pull in front of the other jeep and there about 50' away is a 300lb female Bengal Tiger slowly walking. She stops and turns, like cats and dogs do,she makes a half circle and lies down. She laid there on the side of the hill just staring at us and flipping her tail then she licked her paw and rubbed her face. After about 2 minutes she stood and walked into the brush and we never saw her again. The overwhelming impression is that of elegance and grace, every movement was just beyond words in beauty and grace. That's it, there is no other word for it,beauty and grace, it is one of the highlights of my life. She is the first in the series of the four photos above. The next day we went on a fourth safari and saw a Tiger named "B-2", B-2 is the worlds most famous Tiger only because most photos of Bengal Tigers that we see in magazines and on calenders and such are of B-2. The story of B-2 is interesting. His father was the largest Tiger in the park for many years and was named "Charger" because he would charge the jeeps and scare the tourists to death. The park staff donated money, to purchase a marble monument in honor of "Charger". Charger had three sons B1,2and 3. Only B-2 is left in the park, he is the largest of the three and weighs about 600 lbs, he is 15 years old and you can tell by the way he walks and the color of his coat that he is old. B-2 is the next photo down. The last two photos are of a mating couple that just happened to choose the area near the park entrance for their mating rituals and calls. At night they do, what courting Tigers do, just outside my hotel room window as my bungalow room was on the park boundary.................. So all in all I got to see 6 Bengal Tigers in the wild. More on the wild part when I get home to explain further because I need to move my hands and make the appropriate sounds for you to fully appreciate the scene.

Today I am in Agra, the home of the Taj Mahal. I took an overnight train from Umaria and somewhere along the 14 hour trip someone stole two of my cameras. We were just talking about such matters at the Yogi ashram, about our attachment to things and memories and how it takes us from the here and now. All well and good but it's still a bummer. Tomorrow I visit the Taj then out of the big city and on to another park....................