Not An Old lady Yet - Junabai Female

Tadoba National Park

Big Cats in India usually get two names just like most of us Desi people. The first is the official one that we use in documentation and start using at school. We also have a second pet name that’s usually used by our family and close ones. In the case of the cats, the official names are given by the Forest Department and are often numbers like T-12, T-123, etc. The fun starts with the commonly used name which can be as varied and sensical like ‘Backwaters Female’, cause that tigress hangs around the backwaters or completely outlandish like Matkasur, which roughly translates to Pot Demon. This common name is usually given by the driver and guide who spot the animal first in territory that it's claimed I think cause cubs don't get named and perhaps there’s a consensus that has to be reached among the community inside the reserve as they will always tell you very proudly that, “We do the naming”. I recon the dibs on the name goes to the identifying driver and guide after verification by the local stake holder community and personally, I think that it’s a pretty good system. If anything, we need more Matkasurs to brighten up our days in my honest opinion. The system gives the whole thing colour and personality. Take for example the case of the most famous Leopardess in the Sujan private forest in Jawai called “Fanella”, obviously named so by the higher ups in the Sujan Territory. Seriously, Fanella ! from Pali, Rajasthan? You can just tell where that came from, can’t you?

Tigers love water and I was in Tadoba during the peak summer to take advantage of that and I did with multiple sightings in the water. This one, was the closest one to the subject. She was in the water and there was very little space on the stream bank. So, the vehicles took turns driving up and getting a good, close look at the tigress often called Junabai. That’s not really her name by the way. It’s Junabai Female. Tadoba National Park has a temple inside the Kolara buffer dedicated to Junabai, which translates to “Old Lady”. It’s the temple of the old lady. Seeing our girl here brought back memories of the legendary Maya for me and I had to ask if they were related. Turns out, not. She’s Veera’s daughter and preferred the temple territory like her grandmother. Hence, taking her grandmother’s name in the process and being stuck with being called “Old” since her youth. She was probably around 11 years old in 2024 when these photos are from and had given around 4 litters by then. She’s not old guys. We seriously oughta stop calling her “Old Lady” for at least a few more years.

Now this was an interesting sighting for sure cause she was staring at me straight through most of it. There was very limited movement of the subject, I couldn’t move anywhere with nowhere to go and I had to do what I picked up in Kenya. I had a better cam than I did in Kenya and it was the ordained time to bring out its portrait skills. Needless to say, I wasn’t disappointed. Look at the details of her eyes. You can literally see the veins inside. I had never before been prouder of my camera than that evening when I was reviewing the photos. So, she hung out in the stream for a bit and right about the time that we were backing off to let the next vehicle have their turn to get a look at her, she got up and walked off. We followed her around the stream and up a hill where most of the shots I could have managed of her would have had another vehicle in the background. So I didn’t really bother and just watched. It totally still amazes me how tigers generally will never back away from loud vehicles. It’s not in their nature to back away and show any weakness. Its her territory and she tolerates some guests is the message loud and clear. Sometimes, you can see the irritation in their eyes if there are too many vehicles around but that wasn’t this time. She walked along right by the side of our vehicle for a bit and I could have leaned out and touched her. Wouldn’t have been wise.

Junabai female walked off into the bush to the side of the road and a few months later I found out that she’d given birth to a new litter. Missed by a bit ! Damn it !