TALE OF” KHAIRI “OF SIMLIPAL TIGER RESERVE
International Tiger Day special:
3rd October, 1974. A chilly day in the Simlipal reserve forest in Orissa. Close to sunset. A group of Khadia tribesmen were returning from an expedition to the forest, for collection of honey etc. Near the Khairi river bank, they encountered a tigress with 3 cubs. The tribesmen shouted and banged their drums to scare of the tigress. The mother ran off with 2 of her cubs but one was left behind. The tribesmen took this cub, which appeared weak and unwell, and brought it back with them.
2 days later, not sure of what to do with the cub, they brought it to Saroj Raj Chowdhury, founder-director of Simlipal Tiger Reserve. Chowdhury, a passionate lover of the big cat, had an interesting first encounter with the little creature. He removed the chains with which the tribesmen had tied it up and imitated a tiger roar. The little creature must have felt some empathy because it crept onto Chowdhury’s arms to start of a love affair heard of never before. Saroj Raj Chowdhury named the cub “Khairi” after the river from where she was found. The Jashipur forest bungalow became her new home. Khairi grew up as a part of Chowdhury’s household. His cousin sister Nihar became like a foster mother to her. She only partook food from Nihar’s hands, refused to eat otherwise. As Khairi grew big, Chowdhury’s forest service jeep was modified to accommodate Khairi inside.
Khairi’s best friend was Chowdhury’s pet dog Blackie. The two grew up together and spent most of the day playing around among themselves. Khairi was also fond of the babies of a wild cat that Chowdhury had reared and a small baby deer that was rescued from the forest, though the latter some time became an object of Khairi’s jealousy as it had to be fed by Nihar. Khairi’s story became famous and even reached prime minister Indira Gandhi. Tourists from all over India and even abroad visited the Jashipur bungalow to see Khairi. When Khairi was about 2-2.5, she had accompanied Chowdhury on one of his official trips to deep inside the core area. Here, something disturbed her and she ran off into the forest. Two days later, a tigress was spotted near a bridge not far from where Khairi had gone missing. When Chowdhury along with Nihar visited the spot, they were relieved to find their lost Khairi. When the young tigress spotted Nihar, she came running and leaped on to her, nearly bringing her crashing down!
Saroj Chowdhury realized that Khairi had been attracted by the scent of a male tiger and understood that the animal would need to mate soon. From the time Khairi turned about 4, he repeatedly tried to get Khairi to mate. Sadly, it didn’t work out. Having grown up among humans, Khairi had little jungle skill. Moreover, the smell of humans that she carried was not liked by wild tigers and she often came back with bite and scratch marks.
March 28th 1981. Saroj Chowdhury was away on an official trip. A rabies infected stray dog entered the bungalow compound. Khairi leaped towards it and killed it easily. Sadly before she had done so, the stray had managed to land a bite on her. Khairi was infected with rabies and her condition worsened with evey passing day. By May, she was delirious and could barely move around. Unable to watch her pain, Chowdhury chose to relieve her of her miseries through an overdose of tranquilizers. Khairi was buried in the lawns of the same bungalow which was the only home she had ever known. The incident broke Chowdhury. His health deteriorated and less than a year later, he passed away.
Saroj Raj Chowdhury was a visionary who was the first to introduce the pug-mark based tiger census concept. He also was a pioneer in the use of tranquilizers for capturing wild elephants. His detailed observations of Khairi’s growing up years were priceless source of understanding of Tiger behavior. He was posthumously honored with a Padma Bibhushan award for his contributions to wildlife.
There have been debates whether Saroj Raj Chowdhury’s actions did more harm for Khairi than good, depriving her of a natural life in the forests. Whatever may be the case, this amazing love affair between a man and a beast is one of the rarest and finest in the annals of human history.
Source-Maj.Dr.Sudesh Kanungo,PhD.OVC.OUAT.
