I wasn’t feeling very well after lunch so I opted out of the afternoon game drive. I really wish I hadn’t as David took some wonderful pictures of Chorbehra tigress with her two cubs. They appeared as he was exiting the park.
Chorbehra was walking through the forest with her male cub.
Her daughter was unsure whether she wanted to follow her mother and brother or to stay put. Ultimately, she decided to follow them as she didn’t want to get left behind.
Chorbehra tigress spotted a potential prey and started to chase it.
Her cubs start to follow her but the little female gets distracted by a butterfly. When she realises that she is getting left behind, she hurries after her brother.
But by the time she gets to the stream, she can no longer see her family so she starts crying to let them know that she is lost. The male cub hears his sister and stops. He looks around to try and find her but he can’t see her so he turns around to go back for her.
When the male can’t find his sister, he too starts calling. Their respective cries sparks a flurry of alarm calls which destroys Chorbehra tigress’ element of surprise thereby giving her no choice but to abandon the chase and to retrieve her cubs.
I have seen these cubs but never had the opportunity to get good photos. Last April I went in search of them from an elephant, but they stayed hidden.
The fact that the brother went back to look for his sister brought a smile to my face.
Never mind the lost hunting opportunity for their mother. 🙂
Tigers too seem to have emotional attachments just like humans.
🙂