Ace cricketer and former Team India Test captain, Anil ‘Jumbo’ Kumble came within sniffing distance of a real live tiger when a big cat charged a pair of trained elephants at the Kanha Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, sending a young girl careening off her howdah and into the tiger's path.
The girl was saved by a quick thinking mahout who manouvered his elephant - on which Kumble was seated - between her and the tiger.
Avid wildlifer and deputy chairman of the Karnataka State Board for Wildlife, Kumble was on one of the two elephants in the safari but refused to comment beyond saying "I plan to write to them."
Wildlife experts blamed Kanha's 'Sher Darshan' programme.
"Sighting a tiger should be a matter of luck. Corner an animal like the tiger and it is bound to get disturbed," said a wildlife expert.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (wildlife), of Madhya Pradesh, Dr H S Pabla, disagreed.
"Riding on elephant back is a traditional way of moving inside a forest. Tourists come from far off places to see a tiger and we don't want to disappoint them. We facilitate the sighting from a distance and for a short time only," he said.
