In India, several states worship the tiger as a deity. Foreigners, too, are fascinated with the idea of India being the country of Royal Bengal Tigers, elephants, and snake-charmers. Though it is not true, still its a faithful representation of the spectacular wildlife our jungles boast of. Aren’t they simply awesome because of their majestic movement and gait? The Royal Bengal Tigers are not just beautiful but also intelligent, alert and have a killer instinct. We all must have read in Corbett’s book about tigers being patient hunters overall, and not injuring humans unless provoked or wounded.
A tiger will never attack or injure any humans until provoked, wounded heavily on some important body parts or When the gentlest of tigers become careful, ferocious man-hunters, they are often searching forests for solitary wanderers for long.
Tiger- humans conflict
Even then, most man-eaters do not want to corner and attack a human – most attacks are on the unlucky villager who strays. Tigers may also kill people if they enter a place that holds her young ones. Mother tigers are known to be extremely protective of her cubs and prefer to attack whoever it is.
Wounded and disabled tigers normally pounce on their human prey from the back, to catch them unawares and kill them. Many villagers had taken to wearing face-masks at the back of their heads to fend off tiger attacks and the method had succeeded for a short while. As mentioned, the tiger is an alert, intelligent animal, quick to identify traps and evade them.
Humans have also seen peaceful tigers who without any harm leaves humans to their fate. Still, something is charming about the cleverness, agility, and concentration of the tiger closing in on his prey. In Southern Indian tiger-worshipping temples are still in awe of the fear that a tiger can create in the minds of humans, however much of this is due to lack of knowledge. Nothing else would induce a visitor to go unaccompanied into a wildlife-rich forest. A tiger-human confrontation is an extreme situation, and can mostly because of some negligence on the part of the human.
In short, a Royal Bengal tiger is a majestic animal of prey living in magnificent forests and will leave you alone if you have the sense to leave it alone. Why wouldn’t everyone want to see the beauty?
Born and brought up in New Delhi, it was Sharad’s childhood passion to play cricket for India. While on a holiday in 1990, he saw his first tiger. Little did he know that this one sighting would immerse him into a realm where forests and tigers were all that mattered.
Sharad’s experiences as a wildlife photographer have inspired him to observe the tiger’s behavior for over 30 years and motivated him on his own journey as an entrepreneur. He started Nature Safari India Pvt Ltd, with a focus on “Conservation through Tourism.” to align himself to the mission of saving the regal species and repopulating them in India’s forests. In 2006, he set up one of India’s premier jungle lodges in Kanha National Park.
Sharad believes that there are many lessons to be learned from a tiger that can be applied successfully to leadership—both in business and in life. Here’s a new book by Sharad Vats on management and leadership skills to learn from a Tiger.
