“When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. You are connected to your child and to all those who touch your lives. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.”
— Sophia Loren
Patrolling the Homeland
Photo Credit: Omveer Choudhary
WHILE ADVANCING towards our destination in Kanha in January 2018, as I can can remember – Deepak Ganguly, my fellow voyager and ardent tiger lover, urged that we should be definitely paying a visit to Pench while standing at the entrance point of the reserve for a much-needed break. With the cordial hospitality of Omveer Choudhary, an ace guide and one of our friends who shares the same bower of passion for these extreme big cats, we managed to have the evening shift of safari to have a look around in the domain of Mataram, the very aptly attributed Super Mom of Pench. Though we happened to be warmly greeted by a leopard that evening and two adolescent tiger cubs offered a glimpse of their presence, we turned out to be devoid from the graceful fortune of witnessing the regal patrolling of Mataram in her territorial patch. Since 1990s, when the age of Bandhavgarh and Kanha, as well as some other prominent tiger reserves of Central India dominated the scenario, when very few knew about Pench, it was her for whom the forests of Seoni was relevant at world stage again. She reigned supreme as the Super Mom of Pench, and made the tiger reserve blossom into realty. Love and respect for her can also be realised from the reciprocation that is perceived at the moment of her sad demise. Even at the age of 17, she did not have any major injuries and succumbed only to her old age proves that her authority across the territory was also undisputed – indeed, a special one! This is her story.
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The Tender Grip: Mataram carrying one of her tiny cubs
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The Genesis of the Pioneer: Barhi Maada or T5 on a lookout
Photo Credit: BBC
It all started in September 2005 when some Mahavats spotted a tiger family of five in the Adjalmata area under Karmajhri Range. At that time the cubs (two females and two males) were only 1-week-old, and Barhi Maada used to carry them in her mouth from one place to another for safety. What a beautiful glimpse of motherhood indeed! When the cubs were around a year old, the mother started training her cubs for the survival and once the same was noticed by a patrolling team which astonished them. Barhi Maada bought a chital fawn which was hurt in the forelimb and could not run away and kept it in front of the cubs. When one of the cubs approached it started making loud noises which scared away the cubs, the mother again got hold of the fawn and kept it near the cubs and the fawn again made loud noises on which the cubs ran away this went on for a while. Finally, one of the male cubs came forward and killed the fawn and started feasting on it gradually the other cubs joined in. This made the cub confident in making his kill and surviving. By the age of a coupe of years old, the cubs accompanied their mother and soon after, left their mother's home range, making their own territories.
The territory of Mataram was around the Alikata near Kalapahad-Sitaghat and her sister made her domain near the Baaghin Nala area, who, later on, came to be known as Baaghin Nala Tigress. However, Mataram was radio-collared on March 11, 2008, the first-ever radio-collaring to be done in Pench, upholding her to be bestowed with her famous name – Collarwali. At the age of two-and-a-half years, Mataram gave birth to her first litter in May 2008. Quite an early age to commence one's journey of commitment as a mother. Unlike many or her own kind, Mataram turned out to be the first-time mother in such a tender age of raw adolescence. She was sighted with one male and two female cubs in the Kalapahad area. Unfortunately, all the three cubs died of pneumonia. The second litter was spotted by Mahavats when they saw a tigress on a chital kill with her teats swelled. When they followed her in the region, they saw her calling her cubs and four beautiful cubs came out and started suckling. She had given birth to four cubs – three males and a female.
Eyes on the Vicinity: Mataram with one of the sub-adults
Photo Credit: Omveer Choudhary
Her third litter was something to be reckoned with in the story in Pench in particular, and in the history of tiger conservation in general, when she was spotted with five cubs in October 2010 – one male and four female cubs. Out of the four females, one K5 was shifted to Panna in January 2014. She has given birth to three cubs in Panna glorifying the name of her mother. However the cubs of the fourth litter were seen in May 2012 of one male and two females, later among these three cubs, one female was found dead in the Bijamata area in April 2013. The cubs of the fifth litter were sighted in October 2013. Three males all of which survived and during the last year they were the show stoppers in Pench as they were frequently sighted by tourists. One of the cubs of the fifth litter has been nicknamed as Chhota Charger after the ertswhile famous tiger Charger from Bandhavgarh because of his instincts of delivering mock charges and grumpy growling towards tourist gypsies.
Cooling Off: Mataram on the move from one of her favourite resting spots
Photo Credit: Omveer Choudhary
In January 2015, Mataram was spotted with bulge in the belly, and everyone awaited another litter. Finally, in April 2015, the patrolling team spotted her with four beautiful cubs – two males and two females. Since the opening of the season of 2016-17, it was noticed that Mataram was again pregnant and the entire fraternity was awaiting the good news of the record-breaking phenomenon of the birth of the cubs. She was spotted at end of December 2016, and all knew she had given birth to a seventh litter, but not even the forest team could locate her cubs at that point of time. However, in the beginning of January 2017, the forest patrolling team located four cubs of this litter. It was like a celebration in Pench on getting such a fantastic news. With this now she has given birth to twenty-six cubs which are world record in itself! But during March the news started coming in that only three cubs were being sighted regularly by the forest patrolling team, which definitely meant one of the cubs could not make it to the maturity. One of the tourists and die-heart Pench lover records his experience:
Since the news of the seventh litter, I was eagerly waiting to get a glimpse of the cubs for the last four months and was alert on regular updates from the park. I was getting the report that she was keeping her cubs on the island on the Pench River which is her favourite place. As there were territorial disputes in the main she kept her cubs at the island and when she sensed that now the danger is over, then around the first week of May she brought her cubs to the mainland. I still remember the day when I was inside the jungle for a safari and got the news that Mataram is with her cubs in the central area of the park, but alas by the time I reached there she went inside the lantanas with her cubs, and hardly any vehicles saw her other than the forest people — it was very disheartening for me but then n there decided to take chance next day morning safari. Placed our gypsy at 4:00 a.m. at the gate to enter first once inside drove straight to the area where she was last evening, waited for few minutes and crisscrossing the same area, suddenly a lone sambar call ... and my wife said there she has been walking like a queen. It was 6:15 a.m., she came out alone in the saucer and quenched her thirst – even while she was drinking her eyes were continuously surveying the area and then after 10 minutes again she vanished inside. Now we were sure she, along with her cubs was in that area. So we waited there all other gypsies went away as that day sightings were happening all across Pench but my target was only Mataram. Then around 8:10 a.m., I was standing on the Malkundam road when saw two forest guards running towards us, when they neared our gypsy said, "Sir, Mataram bachey lekar arahi hein." Hearing that I said them either to go to the centre point camp or board the gypsy on that they said that they would go to the camp from the backside. Within a few minutes after the guards went ten pairs of eyes on our gypsy were looking towards the direction and scanning the area and slowly the queen appeared from the bushes with her cubs. What a sighting it was for us! She came to the water saucer, and sat first and later on the three cubs came behind her to drink water, as it was the first day for her cubs in front of the world as a mother she continuously guarded the cubs, that day I saw what an experienced mother with previous twenty-two cubs do to rear her cubs. Till date, when I think of the moment get goosebumps and really we all felt crying after getting the first glimpse of the cubs!
Adieu: Mataram on her heavenly abode
Photo Courtesy: Tigers of Central India (Facebook)
Mataram just happened to be the undisputed empress of Pench and she is an epitome of how a single individual can make a difference by making such a much-needed contribution to her gene pool. Sadly, a royal denizen of her stature, did not get that tinge of recognition like her species-cousin Machli from Ranthambore – something that I call Tiger Capitalism for good reasons. Machli is a name, which is known to all across the wildlife enthusiasts in the world, and claimed to be God Mother of Ranthambore with nine cubs, delivered in four litters – quite a justifiable reason. Should not we think that Mataram also should have been known to the wildlife fraternity of the world with the same enigma? She is one of the major factors for the tiger population not only in Pench, but the Satpura-Maikal landscape of central India as her cubs have been traced in Nagzira in Maharashtra, Satpura in Madhya Pradesh and in the corridors which are connected with Pench. Mataram's is a legacy that is the ultimate beacon of eternity, and without her, Pench will not be the same:
The last rays of the setting sun was bellowing a majestic abendrot across the meadows of the Seoni green. The magisterial set was royal and poetic. A silence ran through the vast plainfield of Mowgli's kingdom. Amidst all these imperial presence, the Queen bestowed her presence as she slowly trodded forward from behind the shal and teak forest into the open canvas. She was ready for her last act at the nature's grand stage. Out in the open, infront of a handful of awaiting visitors and jeeps she rested on her thrown with deep shy of relief as she let her last breadth echo across the green carpet. The entire ecosystem was let known that the Queen is no more. The greatest mother to ever grace the tiger kingdom, T 15, who went by multiple names such as Collarwali, Mataram, Super Mom, The Queen of Central India has finally gave in to her fading age after reigning supreme for more than 17 long years and breeding twenty-nine beautiful cubs in record eight litters.
— Arani Mukherjee, "Queen's Farewell"/ https://m.facebook.com/groups/993544600791448/permalink/2682879525191272/
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