November 12, 2009 was the 2nd last day of our 5'day Bagh'er Jonyo Haatun (Walk for the Tigers) awareness programme at the Sundarbans. The prime objective was to canvass awareness among the human habitants living in the villages adjacent to the Tiger Reserve to cooperate & work hand-in-hand with the forest department in tackling incidents of Tigers entering villages & to communicate the core message that Bengal Tigers are one of the most effective tool to mitigate climate change in Sundarbans.
On the way back from Shamshernagar where a big roadshow was organised with villagers, NGO workers, panchayat representatives & the foresters, we sighted this huge male at the Bhaijora khaal on Jhila river at 14:05 hrs. He continued to walk through the 1st layer of mangroves just beside the river bank parallel to our boats just like the phantom for the next 3+ hours that approx covered a few 15+kms.
These 3 mesmerizing hours left us spell bound as we experienced the magnificence of a king's gestures walking along us though the dense undergrowth, swimming & jumping across a number of creeks & so on .. .. till we had to part ways with him as the eve darkened, only to symbolize that we were in fact WALKING WITH THE TIGER !
Courtesy - Sanctuary Asia & Bengal Tiger Line's Bengal Tiger Bachaao campaign & Wildlife Conservation Trust with Sundarban Tiger Reserve & Sundarban Bio Sphere Reserve.
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