Thaindian News

New Delhi, Feb 2 (IANS) Life of five endangered tigers in the rugged hills of Rajasthan’s Sariska reserve captured by an Indian cinematographer is being shown in Britain as part of a special BBC series on endangered wildlife.

The introductory episodes titled “Tiger Dynasty” was launched Wednesday.

The documentary, filmed by acclaimed wildlife cinematographer S. Nallamuthu, tells the story of five translocated tigers from Ranthambore National Park, also in Rajasthan, to Sariska Tiger Reserve, an expanse of 800 sq km in the picturesque Aravalli range.

The extermination of Sariska’s tigers by poachers had come to light in 2004.

Nallamuthu says of the five translocated tigers he is fond of Baghani, a tigress portrayed in the documentary. “I have been filming her with my good friend and field assistant, Hemraj Meena, since she was a cub,” he says.

“When the Rajasthan government and the Wild Life Institute of India decided to translocate her, I wanted to follow her journey. In a sense we both began our journey in a similar fashion - blindfolded,” Nallamuthu told IANS.

“Days went by before I even caught a glimpse of this magnificent tigress,” he said of the tigress after her translocation to Sariska.

In 2010, Nallamuthu had made the “Tiger Queen”, a moving tale of rivalry and betrayal in a tiger family in Ranthambore. It was India’s first full length wildlife film shot in a high definition (HD) format.

The film shows Machli, the tigress, who ruled the fort for over a decade, was overthrown in a battle by one of her daughters.

Baghani, portrayed in Tiger Dynasty, is one of her daughters.

Today, the population of prey animals in Sariska went up in the absence of major predators. The park now boasts a significant number of prey animals, including spotted deer, sambar, nilgai and wild boar.

Leopards, another key predator in the food chain, began to make a comeback into areas where the tigers had once ruled. They are their main competitors in Sariska today.

Coming back to his favourite subject, Baghani, Nallamuthu says, “At least I knew some of the dangers that were possibly going to trouble her - tiger land is now a playing field for leopards, the villagers lay claim to critical parts of the forests and the lurking sinister dangers of poachers.”

“We all fretted and prayed - would she make it? She of course knew nothing of this - all she knew was that she was in unfamiliar territory - she was wild, she was a tigress - and she honed her skills to survive in this park…It’s true when they say that the journey is the destination,” said Nallamuthu who has captured the unfolding events on camera like no one has ever before in India.

The film also portrays the conflict between leopards and villagers in the reserve.

“The film is mainly shot on HD, (but) infra red cameras have also been used,” said Nallamuthu, who has also captured the conflict between tigers and leopards in Sariska.