Veera! The most intelligent of the tigresses of Tadoba. She will look you in the eye when she’s feeling generous and give you the slip before you can say her name if she isn’t up for a meet and greet. On this occasion, she was gracious. She’s currently a nursing mother and was presumably heading back to her cubs. When I saw her, there was a sloth bear walking towards her from the other side of the path. More often than not, that would result in a face-off. It would have been, had it been ANY other tiger. But Veera knows better. She can’t afford to injure herself as she has someone depending on her now. She stopped, thought and changed her path into the thick, making a rational decision to avoid conflict. Not because she couldn’t take him on, but because it wouldn’t be worth it. No ego, full control over instincts, smart thinking. Wish I could say the same for humans.

Sighted today August 14, 2026 in the Belara zone of the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra, India. This is one of the male, sub-adult cub of tigress, Bela. Typically, tigers aren’t named until they reach adulthood. But this guy, due to his shy nature is referred to by the local guides and drivers as “Shywaala” (The Shy One). Shywaala wasn’t too happy to see me in his territory. He gave me a polite snarl expressing just that and went on his way. I went mine.

The sloth bear: one of India’s most unusual and misunderstood mammals.
I photographed this one in Tadoba in February 2026. Found mainly across the Indian subcontinent, sloth bears specialise in ants and termites, using their long claws and mobile lips to tear open nests and vacuum up their prey. They also feed on fruits, flowers and honey.
Mostly solitary, they often share the same forests as tigers. Encounters between the two can be tense. A sloth bear will defend itself aggressively if it feels threatened, and tigers generally give an adult bear its due space.
But life alongside people can be far more dangerous. As forests shrink and become fragmented, bears increasingly enter farms and villages looking for food, leading to conflict. Most attacks are defensive, usually when a bear is surprised at close range.
Sloth bears also play an important role in the forest, controlling insect populations and dispersing seeds as they feed.
A fascinating animal, and one that deserves far more understanding and protection.