Bollywood Type Tiger Tale

The victorious tiger in the picture is Kankatti (the one with a ruptured ear), and the half-eaten body belongs to Langdi (the lame one), who at the time was a fiercely protective mother of three cubs. The battle between these two tigers has since then entered the folklore of Bandhavgarh; and it did not end with Langdi's death. Two years later, her son returned and killed Kankatti, his mother's assassin!

Here is how the Bollywood type marathon fight unfolded: Landgi, who had just given birth to three cubs, was the reigning queen of the Tala zone of Bandhavgarh. Everything was going fine for the young mother when an intruding tigress €" later identified as Kankatti €" arrived to take possession of the prey-rich Tala. A fight for territory ensued, went on for several days, and ended with a badly-bruised Kankatti turning tail.

Langdi must have heaved a sigh of relief, but her satisfaction at retaining the prime Tala zone as also ensuring safety of her cubs was short-lived. Kankatti returned a few weeks later, and with renewed vigour, launched a second assault on Langdi. This time, though, the tables were turned on Landgi. She not only paid with her life, but also became a meal for Kankatti. The three petrified cubs of Langdi, meanwhile, fled from Kankatti and found shelter in the Khitauli zone of Bandhavgarh, away from their mother's killer.

But the second act of the battle was yet to be played out, and it sheds powerful light on the mysterious world of the tigers. Some two years later, the son of the slain mother €" now a young adult tiger himself and living off comfortably in the Khitauli region of the reserve €" came back to the Tala zone, the same area he had fled in panic after the death of Langdi. This time he went straight for Kankatti, who had recently given birth to two cubs, killed her as well as her male cub and returned to the Khitauli zone. Did this young tiger just exact the revenge for his mother's killing, or were their other forces at work that led to the prolonged fight between the two tiger families?