Water is key to life in the hot summer months. All kind of creatures visit water and tigers can be very possessive of their preferred waterholes. There have been instances when tigers have fought other tigers for the possession of these prime properties of the jungle. Though it is rare to see tigers engaging elephants who visit their waterholes but a big male in bad temper may challenge any creature of the wild.
On this occasion, Jim’s Jungle Retreat Naturalist Abhishek Bhatt was witness to a young tiger going into some thick undergrowth near the edge of a large waterhole when a massive male elephant arrives to quench its thirst. It was interesting to see the tiger follow the elephant on its way back to the jungle as if it wanted to make sure that the pachyderm was not returning back to disturb its territorial sovereignty. Interestingly, the elephant never became aware of the presence of the tiger. Probably the tiger was using the wind direction to mask its smell from the elephant.
An elephant visits a tiger’s waterhole
