11. India: The Jim Corbett Tiger Safari Experience

I read Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book as a child, so seeing an Indian tiger in the wild was high on my India "Must-Do" list. The book is also an example of How India shaped the world. Today, the Indian Government has established over 15 Tiger Reserves, the first being the Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve, created in 1936. Since I was traveling to Delhi, Jim Corbett was the obvious choice, located about 300 kilometres northeast of the city via a mix of highways and rural roads (mostly the latter).

The Jim Corbett Tiger Safari

The Reserve spans around 1,300 square kilometres, with 80% covered by diverse forest types and 20% grassland. Nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas, its elevation varies between 400 and 1,200 meters.

The safari begins by hiring a driver with a Gypsy Jeep, an open-air, six-seat vehicle. Visitors must arrive at one of the Entry Gates to purchase a permit and be assigned a trained guide. I repeated this process for three consecutive days in pursuit of the Royal Bengal Tiger (the proper name for the Indian tiger).

The Adventure Begins

The first lesson I learned: don’t expect instant success! The Reserve is divided into multiple zones, and each day’s exploration starts in just one zone, chosen based on the guide’s expertise and the latest "intel" from other guides regarding tiger sightings.

We also scanned the dirt beside the road for tiger footprints and listened for the chatter of monkeys and deer. The guide explained that these two groups communicate to alert each other when a tiger is nearby — after all, they are both prey for the predator.

The Reserve is home to spotted deer (locally called Chital), the tiger’s primary prey. Larger deer like the Sambar, though less common, can sustain a tiger for three days, while the Chital is merely a snack.

The most common monkey species is the Rhesus macaque. Though they can escape to the trees to avoid tigers, they are still vulnerable to the Reserve’s 700 leopards.

The Hunt is On

Over three days, I spent a total of 13 hours bumping along forest tracks in search of the elusive tiger. With an estimated 250 tigers in the Reserve, my guide assured me that my chances were good.

The tiger, however, is a solitary and territorial animal. Males rule over territories spanning 5 to 10 square kilometres, depending on their ability to defend their domain. Females, on the other hand, roam between several territories. During the heat of the day, tigers rest and hunt only during cooler hours, often moving through dense forest—just meters away, but hidden from view.

Finally, in the 12th hour, my persistence paid off. Jeeps seemed to appear out of

nowhere, as if all the guides had a secret communication system, converging at a single spot. Ironically, after hours spent scouring the forest, the tiger was casually walking through the grassland. It wandered nonchalantly across the road before disappearing again. The sighting, thrilling as it was, lasted mere seconds.

Reflections on the Indian Tiger

Seeing a tiger in the wild is an unparalleled experience, though some might argue a visit to a zoo offers a more convenient alternative. Yet, this fleeting encounter brought with it the thrill of the chase and a profound respect for the tiger’s elusive nature.

India is home to 70% of the world’s tiger population, and the tiger is the country’s National Animal. To protect these majestic creatures, the Indian Government launched a Wildlife Protection Programme in 1973. This initiative has successfully increased tiger numbers, though it has also led to safety concerns for villagers living near the Reserves. This made me ponder the question: How has India managed to increase the Tiger population? And a broader global question: How India shaped the world through conversation, trade and culture.

To address these challenges, settlements have been relocated outside the Reserves. For instance, villages within the Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve were moved, and the former settlements were converted into grasslands. While this has reduced human-tiger conflicts, it hasn’t eliminated them entirely, as there are no fences enclosing the Reserves. Tigers remain motivated to stay within the forest due to the camouflage it provides and the availability of prey like deer and monkeys.

Interestingly, the grasslands that once housed villages are now favoured by the Reserve’s 1,200 Asiatic elephants, as the grass is an essential part of their diet.