Maya – the enchantress
Maya literally stands for the supernatural power by which the world is manifest. True to that name, the tigress is one of the most charismatic and one of the most photographed tigers in the world.
For long, she has enthralled the tourists and photographers, has wooed male tigers and has raised and is still rearing her cubs like no other. She’s an enchantress; perhaps, no other name suits her more. They call her ‘Maya’ for no other obvious reason.
Her story dates back to 2012, when her mother, Nira, succumbed to a snake bite, leaving the future of 4 tiger cubs jeopardized; the cubs weren’t old enough to hunt for themselves. Somehow, all the cubs managed to survive the odds, but nobody knew then that P2 or ‘Maya’ as she was known, would be the superstar of this range.
Soon, she claimed the territory that belonged to her mother – a very vast territory ranging that includes a lush grassland, and a very rich prey-base Panderpauni lake area; owing to her dominance over the lakes, she’s often referred to as Lady of the Lakes – a title previously conferred upon her mother.
A couple of years ago, she mated with the most dominant tiger of the range – ‘Gabbar’ and gave birth to a litter of three cubs. Fate didn’t smile on them, and the cubs were found dead in a short span of time. Maya went into recluse, depressed over the loss of her very young cubs. She wasn’t seen for many days together. She however seemed to gather her composure and returned, much to our delight.
In the meanwhile, her mate and the powerful Gabbar was tranquilized and collared (for tracking and study purposes, which was later removed) that purportedly made him move out of the core area. The absence of a powerful king always draws other opportunistic males to the kingdom. Notably, a new tiger called ‘Matkasur’ male is seen in the erstwhile Gabbar’s area. On and off, a different shy male tiger known as ‘Narasimha’ or plainly ‘Nawegaon’ male too is seen in Gabbar’s area.
The presence of male tigers in a single territory is always a case of concern, as they tend to dominate the territory, leading to either ousting or death of the defeated male. During this time of conflict, Maya seemed to have mated with one of these tigers, in all probability, Gabbar, either by visiting him outside the core area, or when he visited Maya by coming to the core.
Maya delivered a second litter of three cubs – one female and two males in early 2015. The cubs, as is the case with Maya, were pretty bold and grew up in the heavily tourist-pressurized environment, learning the tricks and trade of hunting and killing. Maya once hunted down a Gaur and broke its leg, and let the cubs kill him and feast on him.
In the mid of 2016, when Gabbar was away from core, Matkasur male tiger trailed Maya, found the cubs and charged at them, when the cubs made a dash for their life. Maya sensing an impending danger is believed to have brought Gabbar back to the core area – the area that he ruled once, since Maya alone cannot defend her cubs against the powerful and bigger male tigers like Matkasur.
In an ensuing conflict between Matkasur and Gabbar, the younger and inept Matkasur had to concede defeat to the all-powerful and experienced crusader Gabbar. Matkasur then receded to his previous territory (though he’s often seen patrolling Gabbar’s territory, now a days).
Maya mated with Gabbar towards the end of June, 2016; a feat normally done only after the cubs go away from the mother, which is normally when they are atleast 2 years old; this act flabbergasted purist tiger lovers; this is something against a tiger’s typical behavior.
The story gets even more convulsed when Matkasur forces her to mate with him in September, 2016.
At the end of the day, being alive is what matters the most, and Maya has been doing considerably well. She knows she’s no match against the bigger male tigers and so she’s mating with them at their behest. She’s saving her cubs too, by doing so; by not arousing suspicion amongst her pursuers.
This is her story – true, sex and lies.
Maya’s Lineage
Maya hails from a stunning line of Tadoba’s legendary tigers and her fame and the aura is ageless.
In early 2000s, Jhari, the original matriarch and Queen mother of Tadoba gave birth to Vasanti or the Vasant Bhandara female, fathered by the old Katezhari male aka Boom aka old Bhanushkindi male.
In late 2004, Vasanti gave birth to two cubs, known as Sin and Nira (or Bala). Nira went on to become the Panderpauni tigress or the Lady of the Lakes, while Sin went missing after subadulthood. Vasanti also sired another famous tigress, the Katezhari female or Malika, possibly from Katezhari male aka Tyson or Crooked Tail aka Yeda Anna.
Nira (called so, owing to the spear mark on her left flank) ruled the lakes like her predecessors and sired many litters by Hilltop male, one of the most dominant tigers of the time. Her life was cut short tragically from an apparent snake bite, while she was still pregnant with her fourth litter from Hilltop male, in late 2012.
Maya was a part of four cub litter born in the monsoon of 2010, sired by Nira (aka Bala) and Hilltop male; their third litter. She took over the territory of Nira after Nira’s untimely death and has been ruling ever since.
Maya has littered thrice – the first litter from Leopard face or Gabbar all of whom couldn’t make beyond the infant state, the second litter possibly from, Saturn or Gabbar, supposed to be still alive in non-tourism area. The prodigal son of the second litter was recently ousted by the dominant Matkasur male, who fathered her third litter.
In an area filled with dominant males and each seeking a share of Maya’s rich territory, Maya has done extremely well, as a doting mother, protecting her cubs and saving herself. Resplendent with a supernatural aura, she’s remains the iconic mother and queen of Tadoba.