A tiger was murdered last week. The hunter made us one short of who, with its stealth and beauty, is arguably the most charismatic mammal on this planet. Whilst on a ramble through the jungles of Tadoba, the hunter (a wildlife photographer up to this point) chanced upon the regal one guarding his kill. The lamebrain got off his vehicle, disregarding all appeals to the contrary from the naturalist and laboured through dense shrub toward the beast.
Rifle slung onto one shoulder and camera on the other, he approached the Cat. The tiger objected with a growl. It did not however prove effective. The hunter held fast. Victim and felon only a few feet apart. Short rushes followed accompanied by terrifying roars. The hunter clicked. The tiger protested.
[freemium]When he looked up from his lens, he found the big male feline looking daggers at him.
If you’ve ever seen one in the wild, you’d know that when a Tiger drills his eyes into yours and locks focus, not only does he hypnotize you, but he penetrates your very soul, your core, and strips you naked, laying bare before you, your sheer mortality.
The turf disallowed the jeep to drive in any closer. Escape was inconceivable. The hunter had tuned out all warnings from the animal. And the ruthlessness of a Tiger’s attack began a slow burn. He saw two alternatives: Kill or be killed. And so, he pulled the trigger. That’s all.
The blaze in his eyes blown out, a symbol of strength was torn down to a carcass by the savage human.
One idiotic act massacred not only a Tiger but every effort conservationists across the globe are making to safeguard endangered species.
True, he wasn’t a poacher. He didn’t kill it for sport.
He was only defending himself.
Oh dear darling defense Counsel,
You don’t get off a jeep on a safari!
You don’t trespass tiger territory and invade the privacy of an otherwise good-tempered creature for a photograph!
You don’t agitate and upset him further by refusing to retreat despite roaring alarms, words of caution and inviolable laws!
As a consequence, if injury is inflicted upon you by the Tiger, the blame rests entirely with the intruder.
Cried the defense,
“But nature drives him! He’s a keen photographer!
All he wanted was a winning ‘shot’!”
(And by Jove, did he get one!)
If only, he knew that his photographs would chart their own course to the magnificent mammal’s obituary…
He didn’t kill it for sport. But he’s still a hunter. And while he might get away with a maximum of 7 years in prison or a bulky compensation or both or neither, the world lost something of nature; something marvellous.
Until the verdict,
This is Solomon Naidu.
Reporting from Courtroom No. 5
Of The Bombay High Court.
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