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Jan Briggs travelled on our 'India - Tiger Direct' holiday and submitted this entry to our 2018 writing competition.
Sloth Bear, India
We’re driving in the buffer zone at Satpura. The light is beginning to fade for photographs and weariness from two weeks of rising at 5am is setting in. A gin and tonic beckons after another successful day of wildlife viewing. Suddenly, Dev whispers excitedly “Bear, Bear! With two cubs!”
We look up, cameras raised, unable to believe our luck, as a clear view of this creature has so far eluded us on our adventure through four national parks in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. And yet, there she is – a beautiful black Sloth Bear, her hindquarters facing us as she’s digging in the dirt, with two gorgeous 2- or 3-month-old cubs playing around her. As the minutes pass, she gradually turns around and looks at us and, to our delight, doesn’t take her cubs and leave us, but instead talks gently to them and seems content to stay put, occasionally checking us out with her bright little eyes. Now we can see the white blaze on her chest and admire her long pink snout and amazing manicured nails, so well adapted for digging out termites and other bear delicacies.
The air is filled with the sounds of our cameras whirring and clicking. We don’t want to miss one second of this experience. It’s so hard to drag our eyes from the camera lens to look at the Bears and enjoy the moment, as the wildlife gurus advise. What if we should miss a perfect photo opportunity?
At maybe 25 metres away, I can see her most clearly through my camera lens anyway.
We watch, transfixed, as the two cubs play together at her feet, tumbling around in the dust and, every now and then, one or both climb onto their mother’s back, their tiny claws clinging to her long, shaggy coat. For them, it must feel like a long way to the top!
It’s about now that I’m aware of tears running down my cheeks as I’m watching and filming. Seeing these wild animals (and we know they are very shy) just doing their thing despite our presence, is an overwhelming privilege, never to be forgotten.
Mamma Bear continues to raise her head and look at us periodically, as if to say “Is that enough?” She seems to understand that a short time will never be enough for a couple of Aussies who have travelled half-way across the world to see her. India has indeed done us proud with some fabulous Tigers, Leopards, Dhole, rare deer, many other mammals and exquisite birds, but it is the fact that this mother trusts us to watch her and her two precious cubs for some 20 minutes, which makes this the highlight of our trip. Even the arrival of another truck doesn’t disturb her and it is only a third truck making its way through the brush, which finally causes her to take her leave.
Thank you Naturetrek, our guides and most of all, this little mother bear with her babies for a truly magical experience.
Read more about our 'India - Tiger Direct' holiday.