T24

T24, the tiger, whom I had once chanced upon, some time ago,
Is in the news with passion flowing for him galore.
What is right or what is wrong for me is not to say,
So here I am penning my feelings in my own way.

My passion for the tigers makes my heart go sore,
In his territory I want to see T24 again roar.
I had an eye-to-eye contact with him once,
His eyes pierced mine and since then I am in a trance.

It was sheer delight to see such a handsome hunk,
Since then I have never had another chance to come upon.
But memories do torment us in our human lives,
Banishing him has made me think of him at all times.

His companions have been the best looking RTR dames,
T39 is one of them amongst recent such names.
With two cubs who are just over a year or so old,
Are missing their partner and father that is what I am told.

I do not know if tigers and cubs miss their family or not,
Having myself lost a parent early I would fear of it a lot.
Most of the concerns are for the cubs to survive,
Without the father to protect them it may be hard to contrive.

T39 is a smart queen so let’s hope that she will take them away,
To another place for them in safety to stay.
Till they are able to fend for themselves in time to come,
Pray that they will be strong and smart as their parents till kingdom come.

T24’s territory was huge and he used to roam,
Marking, scenting as he moved on and calling “Aaoum”.
His scent and markings used to send signals to other tigers to stay away,
So that his mates and cubs would be safe enough to romp around and play.

Wonder with the dominant male now gone,
How and what must they be thinking of him on their own.
Again on the topic of him being banished by human intervention,
I do not know nor want to speculate on the real intention.

I am just one of those, like you all, like any other tiger lovers,
Want what is best for not only him but for all the others.
I just hope that it is not just a mistake to keep him at bay,
Shame would be on us to see a king, in his prime, to wither away.

On one hand we say tiger is our National Animal with such pride,
So respect them when we go to their habitat and jungle inside.
Supposedly we are at the higher rung in the animal kingdom,
But in the jungle we act like we are rowdy hooligan.

Shouting and climbing on each other to take a better shot,
How to behave as guests we have forgotten what our parents taught.
It is also time that the Government and those concerned,
Manage the Tiger Reserves and National Parks with better intention.

As for us, with this T24 unpleasant incident that has rattled us, let us learn,
Dwindling habitat for these majestic creations is of high concern.
Stop, divert or trans-locate temples, logging, mining and highway,
These are the things we should fight for, not from tomorrow but from today.