Looking for the Bengal Tiger

Even though the clock shows only 7 o'clock, it is incredibly hot and humid. We are heading out for a canoe trip on the Rapti. The peace and quiet of nature around us is only interrupted by strange bird chirping.

The canoes are carved by hand from a single tree trunk. What a job. Amazing!

Our guide explains that the river is up to 5m deep and we should keep our balance. So far so good. We step in and fold ourselves one behind the other on small stools. The nice looking Asian woman behind me, who doesn't speak any English, seems to be really panicking because with every wobble she lets out little screams of horror. Poor thing.

The ride is great. We see blue glowing kingfishers and lots of crocodiles.

Here there are two types, the long-mouthed ones are fish-eaters and harmless to humans. The short-mouthed ones, on the other hand, eat meat and don't say no to a person who falls into the water. The Asian woman behind me stiffens at this information.

Then we go for a walk in the jungle. The forest is simply fantastic and the path too.

Our guide chooses a less-used one. Less used because it is significantly more dangerous, as there are more tigers here, he says. I'm excited, even though I wonder if this guy would keep his cool in case of emergency and could really protect us. I have my doubts. I squeeze in directly behind him, because it seems to me to be the safest place and the best chance for great photos. We only find out afterwards how many people die each year from attacks by tigers and leopards, but above all from aggressive rhinos. It's dangerous, that's for sure! The guide asks us to be quiet so as not to scare away the wildlife. My sympathy for the nice Asian woman quickly fades because she doesn't stop chatting loudly with her better half. Ugh! I'm about to turn into a beast here!!!

We discover fresh tracks of the agile wild cats. "Footprint. Tiger. Big one tigermom. Small one babytiger." as the guide explains to us in his eloquent English. Yay! I peer into the undergrowth and up the trees as much as I can in search of a glimpse of the Bengal Tiger. I would really love to see a tiger in the wild. But it's not meant to be. The stupid felines don't care that they are on my wishlist and show no signs of stopping by. I knew this season wasn't optimal for animal sightings. The grass is too high and there are many water spots due to the heavy rains where the animals can stay. Spring would be much better suited for that. When asked, I learn that the last time the guide saw a tiger was 2 months ago. Wow, that's rare. I would have estimated the chances higher. To my disappointment, we don't even get to see the armored rhinos, even though there are plenty of them here. And no elephants or leopards either. I'm slightly disappointed. But what can you do. You can't force anything.

Our hike is still beautiful, even though we are drenched and sweat is streaming down our faces. Now during the monsoon season, the forest is dotted with small lakes due to the heavy rainfall. The humidity is between 80 and 90%. Party time for mosquitoes, who have already feasted on me a lot.