| Click here to watch the footage | | | | happened was even more amazing. As the |
| | | | tigress landed on the ground Joymala quickly |
| The forest department received a message | | | | pinned her down with her left fore foot and |
| early on May 19th about a large tiger which | | | | tried to control it with its trunk. The |
| had killed two cows near Tamuli Pathar | | | | tigress struggled under this weight for at |
| village, which is close to the boundary of | | | | least half a minute roaring, as other people |
| the Kaziranga National Park (KNP) in the | | | | in the vicinity shouted and fired shots in |
| north-eastern Assam state. By 10 am a joint | | | | the air. In this commotion another attempt |
| team of the Assam forest department including | | | | was made to dart it, but even this shot was |
| the director of the park, Mr N. K. Vasu, the | | | | off the mark. The tigress finally struggled |
| local administration, police and the army, | | | | loose and ran away. |
| and the Wildlife Trust of India(WTI)-managed | | | | |
| Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and | | | | "If it had not been for Joymala, both Bodo |
| Conservation (CWRC) was combing the area with | | | | and the guard would have been badly injured |
| five elephants trying to locate the animal. | | | | or dead," he said. Meanwhile, Joymala, which |
| | | | was trying to aggressively chase the tigress, |
| Range officer, Dharanidhar Bodo, Dr Chaudhary | | | | was calmed by the CWRC veterinarian, who was |
| along with a guard were riding the elephant, | | | | holding on to the profusely bleeding mahout. |
| Joymala, driven by Pegu. Bodo was carrying | | | | "His fingers were hanging by few shreds of |
| the darting gun. As the elephant moved | | | | tissue and I tried to tourniquet the wounds," |
| towards the tigress, it did a mock charge. | | | | he said. |
| The guard fired two blanks to discourage her | | | | |
| and she ran away into the next field, where | | | | The two sub-adult tigers had strayed out of |
| the paddy was thick and hid there. | | | | the heavily wooded Agoratuli range of the KNP |
| | | | into the neighbouring Tamuli Pathar village |
| The team cautiously moved towards it and | | | | close to the national highway. It was |
| could get to almost 20 feet where she was | | | | speculated that the mother could be nearby, |
| growling away. Bodo could see her clearly and | | | | but she could not be spotted. |
| took a shot at it with the dart gun. The dart | | | | |
| missed her and this enraged her so much that | | | | KNP has one of the highest density of tigers |
| she charged and took a "flying" leap on to | | | | among the protected areas in India , but are |
| the elephant's head. "I have not seen | | | | difficult to see due to the thick vegetation |
| something as dramatic as this," Vivek Menon, | | | | in this grassland dominated park. |
| executive director WTI, who recently saw the | | | | |
| footage, said. "I could never imagine that a | | | | The Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and |
| tiger could so effortlessly leap from the | | | | Conservation (CWRC) is a joint venture of the |
| ground on to an adult elephant's head, which | | | | Assam forest department and the Wildlife |
| is at least 12 feet above the ground," he | | | | Trust of India, and is supported by its |
| said. | | | | partner the International Fund for Animal |
| | | | Welfare (IFAW). This rescue and |
| The footage showed that Pegu saw the tigress | | | | rehabilitation facility for animals of the |
| leaping and threw the metal ankush at it to | | | | region is a first of its kind facility in |
| defend himself. "The tigress saw the ankush | | | | India has handled over 300 animals in the |
| coming, dodged it in mid-leap and took a | | | | last two years including mega-herbivores like |
| swipe at Pegu without actually landing on the | | | | elephants, rhinos and wild buffaloes. These |
| elephant, which had stepped back," Menon | | | | were the first tigers brought to the facility |
| said. | | | | in two years of its existence. |
| | | | |
| "It all happened in a few seconds and before | | | | Note : This post relies information from this |
| we knew what both Bodo and the guard had | | | | source. |
| fallen down," Dr Choudhary narrated. What now | | | | |