It was October 2021, when I decided to go in search for the elusive swamp tiger. Sunderbans National Park, the largest mangrove on earth, derives its name from the Sundari trees and also in the local language “Sundar” means Beautiful and “bans” mean forests. Not knowing the exact reason for the nomenclature, once I did make a trip to Sunderbans, I understood that both the reasons are valid enough. Spread across 40,000 Square Kilometers, 60 percent of it lies in Bangladesh and 40 percent in India, it is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The specialty of Sunderbans are the mangrove trees which stand lazily on the mudflats. Sunderbans is also known for the play of the tides. Each day there are three tidal cycles, that is there are three high tides and three low tides and the breathing roots of the mangrove trees are visible during the low tides.
Residing in Kolkata, India, it is only a 100-kilometer drive to Sundarbans and from there we get our boat rides. Sunderbans is not only a National Park but a Tiger Reserve as well and so on 25th October 2021 my trip started from the Sajnekhali Camp at Sunderbans. From there it actually takes around one hour to enter the forest. After completing all the necessary formalities with the documents and permits we entered the forest after lunch and from there on I was hooked to the boat for five Nights and six days. Every day we started our safari at Sunrise and it will continue till Sunset. On the first afternoon the sightings were Ok to start with. We got an Osprey and a Peregrine Falcon. But my tour operator/ team leader Mr. Soumyajit Nandy had been giving me all the information which I desired. I kept asking him questions regarding the mudflats, human animal conflict (Sunderbans are infamous for it), the geography, various camps, the fauna which he has sighted in his long career and so on, and he tirelessly answered all my queries.
It is from the 26th Morning when our chase for the Swamp tiger began. We spotted salt water crocodiles, collard kingfishers, rhesus macaques, black capped kingfishers, mudskippers and brown winged kingfishers as well but not a tiger. The weather was hot and humid, Mr. Nandy told me that if we get some rains the chances of spotting a tiger would increase. In the afternoon though the weather began to change and by the day end it started raining. I got some nice images but not a tiger. As mentioned before, the swamp tiger is elusive and sightings are not very common, but so is any forest animal. I kept my fingers crossed and hoped for the best.
On the 27th Morning things started to change. At 5 in the morning, I was up on the deck and started my day by capturing some kingfishers. It was drizzling and the weather was cool. Near the Dobanki camp we spotted some fresh tiger foot prints and my heart skipped a beat. Our boatman informed me that the chances of tiger sighting increases tremendously if fresh pug marks are spotted. The terrain of Sunderbans is such dense that one can often miss a tiger. But my crews’ eyes were trained and I kept praying. After crossing a few canals, we stuck to one where according to Mr. Nandy a tiger may cross. And it did. We spotted a tigress walking and I was ready with my Camera. She came out and gave us a stare. That was my shot. Getting a tiger head-on in Sunderbans is something which I could only dream off. And dreams do come true at times. I had framed the tiger to my liking after she decided to move inside the forest. We concluded our day with some nice landscape shots.
On the 28th things got better in terms of sighting. We spotted two different tigers and had a total of three sightings. On all the three occasions we were predominantly depending on the tiger foot prints. We got our sightings and I got my shots. I couldn’t believe my luck and I was informed by my crew that such sightings hardly happen. I would like to mention the efforts put forward by Mr. Soumyajit Nandy, our boatman Mr. Gopal Mondol, Our Guide Mr. Bikramaditta Mondol. They kept on scanning the area with their respective binoculars and if one missed something the other had it covered. Without their inspired genius these sightings would not have happened. Even the boatman’s assistant and our cook were excited and they also helped us whenever they could.
On 29th as well we did spot tigers twice but I was unable to frame them because they were very far away, I managed to see them only with binoculars. But having said that I was highly satisfied with the sightings I got and the images I made. A trip which I will cherish throughout my life. On the 30th nothing interesting happened but that is how forests are. I ended my trip feeling ecstatic and with a promise to myself. I need to get back to this largest mangrove on earth soon.
