Jim Corbett was a bundle of contradictions; he always stated that he was not superstitious and that there was a rational explanation for everything. It was this outlook that enabled him to confirm that the cry of the ‘Banshee’ or ‘Churail’ was the call of a bird he had not seen before – his description of which fits very well with the Changeable Hawk Eagle or the Mountain Hawk-Eagle, whose call sounds quite like a scream.

This is one area where I find myself in disagreement with him. I was therefore quite thrilled at spotting a Russell ’s Viper crossing the road as I began the safari one evening. It is not very often that we sight snakes during the safari, and hence I took this to be a good omen. (Another one of my good omens is spotting a mongoose at the start of a safari).

Sure enough, after a few minutes we bumped into a large tusker. Suddenly, he turned and dashed behind some bamboo. That surprised me, as tuskers are quite comfortable with jeeps around. A while later, I saw a smaller tusker emerge from the left and cross the road. Immediately, the larger one emerged and both of them began pushing each other around.

Pushing Each Other Around!

It was quite obvious that the ‘Little Boy’ was getting the worst of the exchange. Hence his next move was really extraordinary.

The Tusker Brawl!

He first came up behind the ‘Big Boy’ and prodded him in the rear with his tusk. He then chewed on his tail! After that, he caressed him lovingly as if to make up.

I have never witnessed such bonding between two tuskers. I guess boys will be boys, and will always find time to indulge in juvenile fun and games.

Somebody’s bad omen can be another’s good luck charm indeed!

Vikram Nanjappa

Vikram Nanjappa likes to be described as an interested and well-informed amateur. He draws his inspiration from the band of men called the Orientalists, most of whom were amateurs. By profession, they were soldiers and administrators. However, today, they are remembered as giants of scholarship. Like them, his field of enquiry is ‘Man and Nature; (with an emphasis on Nature) whatever is performed by the one or produced by the other’. He currently resides in Bangalore and freelances as a writer and photographer. He can be contacted at nanjappavikram@yahoo.co.in.

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