Wildlife Watchers: An Encounter With The Mighty Bamera Tiger, Star Of Bandhavgarh

By BHAVANA MENON | INNLIVE

A tribute to the tiger reserve's resident celebrity and one of India’s largest and most charismatic big cats.

I first heard of a tiger named Bamera in the summer of 2010, while we were doing a survey in the buffer villages of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve. At the time, he had gained notoriety for lifting cattle and had planted a certain degree of fear in the minds of the villagers. “Bahut bada hai sahab, itna bada tiger humne aaj tak nahi dekha (He's huge. We've never seen such a big tiger)," spluttered a resident of the village from which Bamera got his name.