Baghin Nala (BM 6) – The Matriarch of Pench

Courtesy:- Source unknown

Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh…nestled in the lower southern region of the Satpuda hills lining the Central India. “Pench tiger reserve” got it’s name from the Pench river (tributary of Kanhan river), meandering through the park from north to south. It is located in the southern part of Madhya Pradesh, in the districts of Seoni and Chhindwara. This national parks spans across an area of 758 SQ Kms, out of which a core area of 299 sq km (Indira Priyadarshini Pench National Park and the Mowgli Pench Sanctuary) and the remaining 464 sq km of peripheral area marks the buffer zone.

Courtsey:- marcopoloadventure.com

Pench Tiger Reserve and its neighbourhood (Kanha National Park) is the playground for the plot of Rudyard Kipling's “The Jungle Book”. This is also the courtyard of some of the eminent Tigers of central India. Dwelling among these forests were two celebrity sisters who changed the fate of Pench forever. They together mothered 37 cubs in total during their reign. One still lives, while the other faded into oblivion due to cruel human activity. The story that I am about to tell you is of deceased sister “Baghin nala’…the one, who’s death left many questions unanswered.

Biography:

Courtesy:- bbc.co.uk/programmes

She was born as one of the four from her mother’s (“Badi Mada” F1, Queen of the Kharmajhiri Range) second litter in October 2005 and fathered by “Charger” M1. Charger was the dominant, furious male of the zone, well known for his aggression and fearlessness. She grew up with her sister, the famous “Collar wali” tigress (BM5) and two brothers (BM7 and BM8) as celebrity cubs of BBC’s wildlife documentary “Spy in the Jungle”, narrated by the renowned naturalist David Attenborough himself. Her early days of life were documented vividly by trunk cameras and elephant’s back. 

Badi Mada (F1) carrying new born Baghin nala

Trunk cam-  A still from "Spy in the Jungle"- Baghin nala with siblings

Filmed over a period of three years, it followed her from birth to early adulthood. It beautifully captured the life of a Tigress (Badi Mada) and the efforts that a mother tigress takes to raise her off-springs in the wilderness. The feline emotions were vibrantly displayed in the film through the eyes of the young cubs, including the “Baghin nala”.                                                                  

She was a large female with light coloration and prominent lip like markings adorning her right and left flanks. Volatile by nature, she was unpredictable. Sometimes she would walk for long distance alongside safari vehicles and pose majestically for her admiring wildlife photography enthusiasts, while on occasions she would loudly announce her discomfort and growl away the paparazzi. The two sisters lived on together harmoniously for a long time and finally split up in 2008, just after her sister (BM5) was collared. Soon after, Baghin took over the eastern territory of her mother’s kingdom. She derived her name “baghin nullah wali”, as she marked her territory at the “Baghin-Nullah” near the buffer zone of Turia Gate route. In the upcoming years she dominated her terrain and mothered many cubs.

She had four litters of cubs mostly from BMW, the resident male of the area.

Baghin nala with her cubs (BBC Earth Footage)

First litter from an unknown male with 1 cub (2008)- BN1 

Second litter from BMW with three cubs (2009)- BN2(male),BN3(female) and BN4(female)

Third litter from BMW with three cubs (2011)- BN5 (male), BN6(male) and BN7 (female)

Fourth litter from BMW with four cubs (2013)-  Not named

Demise of the Queen:

Courtesy:- Save the Tiger Facebook page

In the evening of 28^th March, 2016

Monu Dubey, a safari gypsy owner was returning with some tourists. At around 6:20 PM on the outer road of Baghin nullah, they saw some laborers trying to take pictures of a tigress lying still in the bushes. On closer observation he found the tigress to be dead and immediately informed the forest officials.

It was “Baghin nala”. 

She was carrying four cubs as per last sighting a few days ago. On the next morning, forest officials during a search operation discovered two of her cubs lying dead just 50 meters from where the carcass of “baghin nala” was found. The remaining two cubs were missing.

Post-mortem report revealed the cause of death to be poisoning. The mother, cubs and a deer (carcass found near the cubs) were all poisoned by the same source of water, reports claimed.   

Cause of the Tragedy:

During early summer in 2016, construction work was being carried out on the outer road near baghin nullah. Heavy machineries like JCBs and dumpers were deployed for the purpose. It was the favorite spot of “Baghin nala” and especially when she was rearing cubs. The forest official were aware of the fact but took no necessary precaution. Tigers are shy creature and tend to stay away from humans. The increased human activity in the area forced her to stray away into the unsafe zones of the park.

The villagers living in forest area often poison some water sources to catch a kill (generally deers and other bush animals, not tigers). Unfortunately, the tigress along with her cubs had possibly drunk water from one such source. The chance of poaching was not suspected.

 Shukla’s Plea for Justice:

Aditya Shakalya, a 32 years old wildlife conservationist, initiated an online petition on change.org titled “Murders at Camp 38: Seeking Justice for the Murder of A Mother & Her Cubs” demanding an independent, high-level investigating committee to look into “the high frequency of unnatural tiger deaths in India”.

The online petition also listed a number of tiger deaths in Pench since August 2015.

Shukla stated, “There was a lot of movement of migrant workers inside the area where the tigress was rearing her cubs. The workers were using heavy machinery such as tractors, JCB and bulldozers. This is not permissible at all as tigers are very shy animals and they don’t want to be put in public.”

He further added, “I and a couple of locals had approached the forest department after we found that the records were missing of the people who were deployed to work in the area, but were not given any information. The construction equipments and the workers seem to have vanished overnight…It is a serious matter, which needs to get proper attention,”

Later, four people were arrested for poising the water sources within Pench National Park limits.

As for the last information of the cubs, one went missing and the other was found. The lone survivor of the incident, the male cub was transferred to Kanha National Park for rehabilitation.  

Last Surviving cub of Baghin

The heart rendering tale of “Baghin nala” and her tragic death shock the nation. Wildlife conservationists and enthusiasts all over the country took to protest against the incident at Pench. Safari guides and tourists upheld entry into the park for quite some time in a silent protest. Questions were asked, fingers were raised and candlelight tributes were offered.

She was revered and remembered.

“Baghin nala” no more walks amidst the forest, but she will always be… “The Matriarch of Pench”.

Pic. Courtesy:- Arpit Dubey

DISCLAIMER: 

I DO NOT LAY CLAIM TO ANY OF THE PICTURES IN THIS ARTICLE, THEY RIGHTFULLY BELONG TO THE RESPECTIVE OWNERS. THEY HAVE BEEN COLLECTED FROM ONLINE PLATFORMS. IT IS ONLY FOR EDUCATIONAL AND AWARENESS PURPOSE. YOUR SUPPORT IS APPRECIATED