The Melghat Trail

Book excerpt: Gripping encounters with wildlife is the heart and soul of the book. Such thrilling situations include a dozen wild boars congregating just a few feet away from the author, a leopard crouching at hand-shaking distance under his machaan, a leopard killing a bullock very near the author’s bed, a loner gaur about to stamp on him while he was sleeping out, a visit to a tiger’s den, following a tiger on foot, a ferocious charge by a sloth bear, the ruthless whistling hunters on a kill, and so on. The frustration of not sighting the Melghat tiger for one and half years after joining as the field director, Melghat Tiger Project, followed by the joy of sighting the elusive Melghat tiger, are described in the stories. During his journey through Melghat, the author met a variety of his unsung heroes, for whom sufficient space is given. There are funny situations judiciously sprinkled across too—a man on the upper branch, a tiger on the middle branch, and wild dogs surrounding the tree; a nightjar landing on the body of a VIP, tipsy animals and bears. It’s a comprehensive treat.