At 17, Kanha Tiger Reserve's legendary striped cat Munna still going strong

He is probably India's oldest living male tiger in the wild — 17-year-old Munna from the Kanha Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, now spending his golden days living in the buffer areas, surviving mainly by killing cattle from nearby villages and smartly avoiding any confrontation with younger tigers.

Munna, also one of the most photographed tiger, is famous globally amongst tourists and photographers for the very evident CAT-mark on his forehead.

Such is his widespread fame that several guides claim that tourists, including those from different countries, constantly make enquiries about his health and the chances of seeing him once the park opens in October.

"T-17, also known as Munna was last sighted a week ago when he was reported to have reached very close to Narna village in Khatia buffer where he had killed cattle. To ensure there was no conflict with humans, we immediately sent our staff along with trained elephants to monitor his movement and patrol the area," said L Krishnamurthy, Field Director of Kanha Tiger Reserve. He added that they make it a point to ensure that the villagers are quickly compensated for losing their cattle to tigers like Munna to ensure that there is no anger or retaliatory attack on the big cat by villagers.

Krishnamurthy said that Munna is a legendary tiger as its extremely challenging for male tigers to survive for this long in the wild.

Wildlife photographer Sarosh Lodhi, who first saw Munna in 2008 during his visit to Kanha, said that the tiger is a photographer's delight. "Munna has lived like the king of Kanha for the last 17 years. When he was in his prime, he fought some big tigers and won territories, but since he began growing old and weak, he has been carefully managing a life without a conflict with younger tigers and is constantly on the move," he explained.

Meanwhile, Rajendra Jhariya a senior guide from Kanha said that Munna is a master of comebacks. "In the monsoon of 2016, he was not sighted for three months and everyone thought that was the end of Munna. But, in October, he was again spotted in the core areas. The same thing has been repeating since then and just when everyone thinks it's time to mourn him, he appears. Many guides and drivers now revere him," he said.

Incidentally, it was a limp similar to a park guide named Munna that earned this striped cat the nickname. "A very young T-17 was severely injured in a territorial fight and began limping. During a sighting, a guide jokingly pointed out that the tiger was walking just like Munna guide, and after that whenever the tiger was spotted, he was called Munna, much to the annoyance of Munna guide. He later was happy having a tiger named after him," said another senior guide from Kanha.