Felids Interactions - Intraspecific Conflicts

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#441

01-23-2020, 05:13 AM

Kunal L Goyle

13:09 Dhwajhandi Road
There were huge growls emanating from the undergrowth even as we’d entered Dhawajhandi road, clearly indicating a fight was on and by the time we reached the bend, it had also stopped as abruptly as it had begun. A few eardrum shattering roars made us pull over as we came across 2 tigers right ahead of us, sitting beside the road.
We soon realized it was Umarpani male seated beside DJ female, both looking intently across in the direction that the intruder was presumably hiding. The King kept growling at the female, perhaps to remind her who the Boss was. There was no doubt who the winner of the first bout was. It then dawned upon us that Umarpani Male had been on high alert mode at Baba Thenga as he seemed to have sensed DJ female mating with an intruder on Dhawajhandi road. The saga of love, deceit & revenge had only just begun.

Bout 1 : Umarpani Male.

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13:10 - 13:13 Hrs, Dhawajhandi Road :9 Jan

As if on cue and in a bid to throw another challenge at Umarpani Male, the intruder that’d remained concealed until then appeared onto the track, thereby revealing his identity. He turned out to be none other than Jamun Tola Male (T-24) who had made several advances on DJ female in the past, even during CM’s reign. It appeared to us that the battle lines had been drawn.

While DJ remained a mute spectator, Umarpani let out a huge roar and within no time, was up and running, in hot pursuit of the challenger who, in turn bolted away to the fireline. Apparently, the challenger had laid the bait and in a frenzy, Uma Male seemed to have fallen for it hook, line & sinker. Anticipating the next bout to occur out in the open, we retreated back to the fireline, just in time to witness JT trading punches on Uma. Here’s the teaser to the first punch of this bout. Stay tuned for the knock out punch of round # 2.

13:14 Hrs, Off. Dhawajhandi Road.

Decisions taken in a fit of rage leads to disaster more often than not & that’s exactly what happened to Umarpani Male when he failed to notice the trap setup by his adversary. While JT reached the fireline first and lay flat on his belly, almost spread-eagled on the forest floor & waiting in ambush, Uma Male made a mad dash to the fireline and almost fell on his face as he seemed to have been caught by surprise. The momentum ensured he almost tumbled headlong and was at a disadvantage the moment JT sprang upon him.

JT pounced on the opportunity to land a jab, a hook, a slip and a roll prior to delivering the knock out. A lightning fast upper cut sent Uma Male tumbling onto the ground & he fell on his back even as razor sharp claws were unleashed as the last line of defense. A few moments later, it was a direct face-off (a la Travolta vs Cage), Uma Male retreated and JT seemed to be giving him a send-off. Smarting from defeat, Uma Male trudged into the undergrowth while JT strode out onto the road with all the swagger and joined DJ female, who seemed to have been waiting for a victor to emerge.

Winner of round 2 : JT.

You’d be wrong if you thought this was the finale as more drama ensued. Stay tuned until then !

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13:22 – 13:30 Hrs, Dhawajhandi Road.

After having defeated Uma Male in the 2nd round, JT strode out onto the road and moved towards DJ female who seemed to greet him as if to savour his win. No sooner did he appear to assume the battle was over, a loud growl reverberated behind us. Not the one to throw in the towel just yet, Uma Male appeared onto the track and galloped towards the couple with all fury. Taken by surprise, it didn’t take long for JT to beat a hasty retreat and run for cover.

Uma male then joined DJ female, kept growling at her, as if to reprimand her for misadventures, keeping an eye out for JT all the while. While he proceeded to scent-mark, DJ seemed nervous as well as submissive and lured him into mating. Perhaps a damage control exercise ? He then obliged her nonchalantly & mounted her, growling as well as roaring away all the time. Will JT wave a white flag and call out for a truce or is another round of battle in the offing ? Stay tuned.

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15:22 – 15:39 Hrs, Bhuta Chappar – Baba Thenga.

While we’d skipped breakfast, it looked like we might end up skipping lunch too, as the fight only seemed to get fierce by the hour, moving from Dhawajhandi road to Chattapatra and onwards to Bhuta chappar, with JT having gained an upper hand during the rounds that occurred between 13:30 – 1520 Hrs. There was no doubt someone was getting really irked by the fact that DJ had been switching sides without a fuss and sitting beside JT. It wasn’t difficult to skip lunch, as sparks were set to fly.

We headed to Bhuta Chappar as soon as a sambar had honked there. Forget lunch, the next gloves were off and the next round seemed to have begun. A couple of growls & snarls later, DJ stepped out into the open, with Uma male on her heels. It was clear who had emerged victorious in the previous round. Uma Male seemed to be truly upset with DJ as he kept snarling at her all along and kept blocking her path. As is the norm, females of all species tend to have an upper hand when it comes to winning arguments. No wonder DJ appeared to give it back to him. While he ushered her aggressively towards Baba Thenga and seemed to insist on another round of mating, she appeared to feign a terrible headache instead (pun intended !). A few moments of confrontation later, a Sambar honked out loud from Bhuta Chappar and both of them seemed to have been caught unaware.

Will JT make an appearance yet again & throw another challenge ? Stay tuned for the upcoming episodes on the finale.

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15:37 – 15:40 Hrs, Baba Thenga.

While Uma Male & DJ were gazing intently at the source of the sambar’s alarm call, taking extreme pity on me (as I’d been starving), my man Friday passed over an apple. However, no sooner did I take the first bite that my man friday exclaimed “Sir, doosra aa raha hai peeche se” (the other one too is on his way). I had no other option but to quickly toss back the apple (after a succulent bite of course) and get back to work, hunger pangs notwithstanding. As soon as I’d positioned my camera & looked through the viewfinder, JT arrived. He seemed to be in no mood to call for a truce. We quickly pulled further away in order to let them sort it out totally unhindered.

Even as JT trudged over towards the couple, Uma Male strode out for what seemed to be the next round. While DJ threw caution to the winds and chose to remain well away from the ring, sizing each other with snarls & ear shattering growls, the two stood on their hind legs and began trading blows.

Would JT’s left hook knock Uma out prior to the arrival of regular safari vehicles or would Uma give a slip and land a decisive upper cut ? The bloodiest of final rounds had just begun. Stay tuned !

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15:40 – 15:42 Hrs, Baba Thenga.

As is the norm during fights between two rival males, DJ appeared quite nervous as well as undecided and quite understandably so. With DJ fixing her gaze on him, JT seemed to have a spring in his steps. In what could arguably be termed as an effort to show-off his prowess as DJ was watching over the entire proceedings, JT began throwing punches with all his might perhaps a bit too soon as Uma Male evaded them effortlessly and seemed to be waiting for an opportunity to land a decisive blow instead.

The moment arrived as soon as JT was caught off balance while punching thin air ! In a flash, Uma threw a single jaw-crushing punch that sent JT tumbling onto the ground. It didn’t take long for Uma to pounce on him, pin him down and deliver a crushing bite on JT’s foreleg while also clawing all over JT’s face simultaneously. The double blow appeared to be enough for DJ to take notice and move towards the duo. It was about time she realized who the real boss was.

Would JT accept defeat and try to run away or would he use his inherent guile to turn the tables over Uma prior to the arrival of regular safari vehicles ? Would DJ take sides or remain neutral until a victor had emerged ? Stay tuned for the penultimate episode of the series.

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15:41 – 17:00 Hrs, Baba Thenga.

The bar and further arm-hold move in freestyle wrestling says “if you are present on the left side of the wrestler, secure a further arm-hold by shooting his left arm around. Get a firm hold under the head and bar hold under the left arm of your opponent. Perform upward movement of the bar followed by a pulling forward action with a further arm grip. This action will force the opponent to mat in such a position that his weight will be bore on his chest. Through this action the shifting of his grip occurs which is followed by an immediate fall on the ground”. Well, JT seemed to have taken a leaf out this book and turned the tables on Uma Male. JT’s guile manifested itself when he remained motionless for a few moments (as if to feign defeat) prior to springing a surprise on Uma Male by leveraging his hind legs as well as forelegs to pull off this move. Although Uma was up on his feet as quickly as he’d fallen on his back, JT appeared to have gained an upper hand and DJ emerged behind them to take a closer look at the proceedings.

The winner of this round was clear as soon as JT got all puffed up (to look menacingly big), stood on his hind legs and growled viciously at Uma Male, who seemed to accept defeat by getting into a submissive position, prior to retreating into the undergrowth. Apparently, the marathon rounds of fighting had taken a toll on both the males as they seemed to have lost steam by the time regular safari vehicles had arrived. Although they chose to rest intermittently, a few more brief rounds followed during the next hour or so. However, at the end of it all, no clear winner seemed to have emerged as both the boys seemed to have decided to refrain from anymore brutal combat, most likely to avoid sustaining injuries that might hamper their survival. I couldn’t shoot much after that owing to an awkward angle of view as the tigers had changed their seating positions (I was behind them while all 3 were seated facing our good friend Camilla, who hit jackpot as she reached Baba Thenga from the other side ?).

Would either or both of them get grievously injured ? Stay tuned for the final episode of the series that has documented the extent of injuries sustained by them.

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The cost of war :

A tiger reigns absolutely supreme when it comes to ‘offense’ but is not all that formidable when it comes to ‘defense’. There is no other land predator save for giant bears, which are so well equipped with weaponry in the form of not only claws and massive canines but in terms of sheer muscle bulk. In terms then of strength, weight, power and intelligence tigers have not only lions but every other big cat and quite arguably every other obligate land carnivore beat hands down.

But the tiger lacks the defensive protection which say a bear has in terms of a heavy coat and substantial layer of body fat, or say the thick hide of a rhino. It is vulnerable in terms of a relatively soft belly and a head which isn’t equipped with any kind of hard protection or even a mane like the male lion. What this means is that quite possibly the last thing which a tiger wants is to fight another tiger. It’s akin to two gladiators walking out to fight each other equipped with swords but no shields. Neither wants that because the outcome will be death for one and possibly maiming for even the victor. Add to that the fact that a serious injury for a solitary predator can often mean death by starvation (though that is to some extent compensated for by it being an ambush hunter), and you will see why the tiger will try to avoid conflict.

Apparently, Jamun Tola & Umarpani male seem to have decided not to pursue a fight to the finish. A wise move one’d say, at least until their paths cross again.