Battle of the Big Cat

Battle of the Big Cat

How does a tiger or a chimpanzee go about his or her life? How do other animals behave in their presence? It’s quite interesting to follow the dynamics and inter-play that takes play in the animal world. The Dynasties series, to be aired on Sony BBC Earth from June 17, will tell you all this and more by following the lives of chimpanzees, emperor penguins, lions, painted wolves and tigers. Filmed over four years in glorious locations around the globe, this series allows the viewers to be a part of the lives of some of the world’s most iconic animals. 
We chat with Theo Webb who followed tigress Raj Bhera and her cubs for almost three years. He shares with us Raj Bhera’s story.

Why did you choose to shoot in Bandhavgarh?
In 2012-13, I worked on a BBC series called Life Story, and for that series we filmed the story of a mother tiger and her cub in Bandhavgarh. While working there, we formed a good team with a local driver and guide. And, so when we started to develop the Dynasties series, we spoke with them and they said that they have got an amazing tigress called Raj Bhera in a great habitat to film in. She has got some cubs, they said, that were in the process of leaving her and becoming independent. 
In the next year or so, it was very likely that she would have more cubs and at that point, we decided that she would be a good character to follow. 

What was going on in your mind during the period of shooting?
Our day would start by driving around her territory trying to locate her pugmarks from nightfall. With that we would try and guess which part of the territory she was in. Next, we would look/hear for alarm calls from chital, sambar and langur. They would lead us to the tigress and her family. We would wait to see if she would come out. When Raj Bhera came out, we would follow her. 
In the morning, when it would get hot, she would find some grassland to rest and then we would stop and watch. Sometimes that would be whole day’s waiting. As long as we would see her, we would stay and watch. Sometimes it would be extremely boring because she would be sitting and other animals would be hiding. We would just see her tail flipping. We couldn’t really take our eyes off her for more than a few seconds. Because if she disappeared, then we would have to start the process again. And we did lose her a few times. If we heard the alarm calls 300-400 metres into the national park, we knew she was gone. Our intention was to film her natural behaviour, uninfluenced by us or any other human beings.

What kind of qualities do you  need to work on a series like this?
Patience, yes. But more than patience, it would be optimism. We had to be constantly optimistic that something exciting would happen that day — we would tell this to ourselves, every day. We would sit under a tree and do nothing for five-six days of the week. So you have to be optimistic. Other than that you need to understand the animal and a little bit of their biology. 

You were following Raj Bhera for almost three years. What were her characteristics? 
Raj Bhera was an amazingly confident tiger. Initially, when she was first establishing her dominance over her daughter, Solo, she did it confidently. Raj Bhera knew that her daughter was her rival and she was in conflict with Solo. She was also extremely relaxed and an amazing hunter. She kept all her four cubs alive until they were adults. That was an incredible thing — a courageous mother absolutely. 

Can you elaborate on the rivalry with her older daughter? 
In the story, the rivalry is between Raj Bhera and Solo. Solo is her daughter from the previous litter. She is an adult tiger and is trying to encroach on her mother’s territory and trying to overtake and train cubs. The story is about Raj Bhera trying to raise her cubs in a changing environment. 

How would you describe animal instinct in these surroundings?
All animals are trying to survive, live day-to-day and pass on their genes to their offspring. We have been trying to analyse this reason for survival, by following one family. 

Tell us about your experience of Indian national parks vis a vis sanctuaries in other countries?
I travelled to India when I was 18 and I saw my first tiger in Ranthambore in that visit. So I am very biased about India. When I was a kid, I would watch BBC series on Indian tigers. That was my favourite thing. When I had the opportunity to make a film on tigers in India it was like my childhood dream come true. 
India national parks are very peaceful. They are well protected and they have the most amazing diversity, especially birds and animals. When you drive around the Bandhavgarh park in summer, just after dawn, the sound of this forest is something that you won’t hear anywhere else in the world. In Kenya, you have big charismatic animals, like the elephants, lions and leopards. Whereas in India, you have to work harder to see animals. It’s complex and tough.

ST Reader Service
Dynasties premieres on Sony BBC Earth on June 17, and will air from Monday-Friday,   9 pm onwards

 

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