ABOUT TIGERS | VIDEO | SIDE TRIPS
>>STOP 6: INDIAN JUNGLE
Deep in a jungle in India, you're on an elephant's back searching for a tiger. Your elephant, controlled by a mahout, or driver and caretaker, provides the safest place from which to watch tigers in the wild. (Tigers usually don't attack adult elephants.) A tiny movement catches your eye, the flicker of a tiger's ear. The tiger's so well camouflaged that the rest of her 300-pound (136-kilogram) body melts into the background. To your great delight, you quickly realize she's not alone.
Two cubs burst into sight, tumbling toward their mother. They leap and jump on each other. Their mother lies patiently
as her cubs use her as an obstacle for playing hide, seek, and pounce. You laugh as they attack their mom's swishing tail.
As you watch, the playful cubs catch sight of a big
grasshopper. Practicing hunting skills they'll need when they're older, the cubs crouch, all eyes on the insect. They try hard to be patient, but they're so excited that they leap too soon and the grasshopper escapes easily. You know the cubs' skills will improve as they grow up.
The cubs are four months old. In a couple more months they'll be old enough to follow Mom when she hunts. They'll begin to learn her techniques and mimic her hunting behaviors. Cubs stay with their mother for as long as two years.
Rooaaarr! The roar came from a tiger in the distance. It may be a reminder to the mom and cubs to stay out of the other tiger's territory. You love watching the cubs, but decide it's time for you and your elephant to return to the lodge to prepare for the next leg of your safari.
