But even today the general perception about the tiger is that of its being aggressive, man-eater and violent. There is a negative attitude in the villages of the Terai region, especially among the youth. People are completely apathetic or unaware of the true nature of the tiger in wildlife-dominated areas. After working directly and indirectly for more than a decade in the field of tiger conservation, I look upon the tiger as a monk and like to call him the ‘Striped Monk’. It happened many times in the dense forests of Pilibhit-Dudhwa-Katarniaghat that I came very close to tigers while doing foot patrolling. Each time the tiger silently changed its position without doing anything. This happens with all the field personnel working in the tiger area.
We have seen that the tiger is a living creature in itself. In the forest he behaves like a meditative creature. If the tiger is not hungry, it never hunts unnecessarily, even ignoring the lamb of a chital passing by. The tiger is mostly so absorbed in himself that he is startled by the sound of a khat. Tiger’s aggression is mostly camouflaged – just to scare. If his behavior is unusual, he may be sick, old, unable to hunt, or injured. Usually, cases of human-tiger conflict come to the fore only when human interference in the tiger’s territory crosses a threshold.
To consider the tiger synonymous with aggression is not a correct interpretation of its nature. Positive interface with tigers needs to be used to communicate their true nature rather than being limited to photographing and videoing them. It is also important to understand that mankind, after placing itself on a higher pedestal than the rest of the creatures, often forgets that their fellow animals also have a psychological perspective, an emotional space, which deserves to be acknowledged and respected. It is common to see a tiger, but it is very special to know it and give it due respect and space. It takes a whole life to understand and describe it.
(The author is a senior Indian Forest Service officer and views are personal)