The mighty Pattawala was rescued by forest officials as a tiny, orphaned cub. The local guide tells me he survived a deadly flood. The story of what happened to his mother and other siblings is left to imagination. Instead of being sent to a zoo, he was rescued and brought to the rewilding centre at Kanha National Park, in Madhya Pradesh, India.

At the rewilding centre, he received minimal human contact and was carefully trained to hunt and survive. Tigers there start on milk and mashed meat, then learn on small prey such as goats, and eventually progress to larger prey like deer before being released.

After about two-and-a-half years of training and a further period of monitoring, Pattawala was considered ready. He was collared and released into the wild. That collar is how he earned the name “Pattawala”. (The word, “patta” in Hindi refers to the collar).

Today, he roams freely in the Mukki zone of Kanha. His story of survival and success is a testimony to what dedicated conservation and rewilding can accomplish.

Kanha itself is among India’s most important tiger habitats. Spread over around 940 square kilometres, it supports a rich ecosystem of tigers, deer, the iconic barasingha, and many other species. One of the most striking aspects of Kanha is its early morning light, especially in the winter mist. I hope to share some of that in future posts from my trip to this truly magical forest.

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