At around 12:15 AM midnight , Mishu’s dinghy landed on the shores of the Sundarban mangrove forests in the Buri Goalini Forest Range . It was a full moon night and while there was not a human being in sight , we could hear all sorts of sounds characteristic of what one hears in the forests . The calls of thousands of insects , the hisses of snakes , the calls of Axis deer , the squeals of wild boars and the distant roars of Royal Bengal tigers . We asked Mishu to wait for us near his dinghy , until sunrise ( 5:00 AM ) . If we did not return to the dinghy by then , Mishu was to leave the Sundarban mangrove forests without us . I paid Mishu 30 Taka and told him that I would pay him the remaining 30 Taka upon our return . This was a precautionary measure , so that Mishu would not abandon us and would actually keep waiting for us until sunrise . Subharam , Gautomda and I then set off into the depths of the Sundarban mangrove forests . Subharam led the way , because he had a general idea of which part of the forests were inhibited by Royal Bengal tigers .
Back when Bangladesh used to be a part of British India ( prior to 1947 ) , countless British authors have recorded the Sundarban mangrove forests as being undoubtedly the single most dangerous forest across the entire British empire . I can personally verify that there is absolutely no exaggeration in this assessment . In the Sundarban mangrove forests , one always needs to keep their eyes and ears open ; staying alert at all times . In every inch of the Sundarban mangrove forests , you are bound to find something which wants to kill ( or at least harm ) you ; be it on the ground or in the trees or in the water . You have more than two dozen species of poisonous insects . You have 22 different kinds of venomous snakes ( including the python , king cobra and Russell’s viper ) . You have 20 foot long salt water crocodiles , all weighing in excess of 1000 kilograms . You have aggressive wild boars which weigh in excess of 135 kilograms ; with curved razor sharp tusks . And all of this pales in comparison to the greatest threat of all ,which lurks within the Sundarban mangrove forests - The Royal Bengal tiger ( with fully matured males easily exceeding 273 kilograms in weight ) . One in every five Royal Bengal tigers which inhibit the Sundarban mangrove forests , happen to inherently become marauders . Such are the dangers to those who wander into the Sundarban mangrove forests .
Subharam led the way , while I remained close behind ; My Laurona 12 bore sidelock ejector ( which was loaded with Eley Alphamax LG shells ) in my hands . Clamped to the fore end of my shotgun , was a powerful six cell torchlight . Gautomda stayed in the rear . We could hear the distant roars of Royal Bengal tigers and Subharam told me that we were guaranteed to have a successful hunt ; provided that I could shoot straight . He told me that one male Royal Bengal tiger and at least two Royal Bengal tigresses were fairly close by . Gautomda further went on to say that the male was currently mating with one of the Royal Bengal tigresses . I was ( at the time ) awed by how Subharam and Gautomda could easily ascertain all of this just by hearing some distant roars . Subharam explained to me that the roar of a male Roar Bengal tiger is far deeper and much more hoarse than the roar of a Royal Bengal tigress ( I would later pick up this skill by 1975 ) . Subharam eventually found a fresh set of Royal Bengal tiger pug marks and we were now anxiously ( but cautiously ) following the trail to our prize .
At around the 2:00 AM in the dead of night , we had just finished wading through another vast muddy swamp . Suddenly , Gautomda pointed at something roughly 150 yards away . There ; lying under the cover of a large banyan tree were three large Royal Bengal tigers . One was a male , while the other two were clearly Royal Bengal tigresses . We had found exactly what we were looking for . Silently whispering to Subharam and Gautomda to follow me , I began to crawl towards the direction of the three Royal Bengal tigers ; my Laurona 12 bore sidelock ejector ready to do it’s work .
I kept crawling towards the three Royal Bengal tigers until I was within 20 feet range of them . They were not aware of our presence and so , this gave me a few seconds to contemplate which Royal Bengal tiger I should take out first . I rationalized that the male Royal Bengal tiger should be the one which needed to be taken out at first ( while I still had the element of surprise ) , because he might later prove to be the most aggressive and resilient once the Royal Bengal tigers had become alerted as to our presence . I took two extra Eley Alphamax LG shells and kept them between my fingers ( so that a swift reload could easily be afforded ) . Leaping up , I shouldered my Laurona 12 bore sidelock ejector while simultaneously switching on the torchlight .
I pulled my left trigger and a loud gunshot echoed through the entire Sundarban mangrove forests, while the concentrated charge of eight antimony hardened LG slugs tore into the region where the male Royal Bengal tiger’s neck met the shoulder . Giving a startled death growl , He dropped lifelessly to the forest floor . Without even waiting for the death growl to end , I instantly swung the shotgun around and took aim at the side of the head of the first Royal Bengal tigress . I pulled my right trigger and the loud gunshot was followed by the concentrated charge of eight antimony hardened LG slugs tearing into the earhole of the animal . The Royal Bengal tigress instantly dropped to the forest floor ; dead . Clearly , at least some of the LG slugs had found their way into her brain . By now however , the second Royal Bengal tigress had come to her senses about what was going on . She began to rise up to her feet .
Realizing that both chambers of my Laurona 12 bore sidelock ejector were now empty , I hastily flicked the top lever of the shotgun and opened it at the breech . Frantically putting in the two extra Eley Alphamax LG shells ( which I had kept between my fingers beforehand ) , I snapped shut the breech of the shotgun and took aim at the Royal Bengal tigress . The animal made direct eye contact with me ; her eyes looking right into mine . After roughly a fraction of a second , she bounded off into the foliage . Having an opportunity to take a better look at the fleeing Royal Bengal tigress , I immediately realized that she was quite visibly pregnant . Gautomda nudged me to take a shot at her , before she disappeared into the night for good . However , I politely refused . As desperately as I needed the money , I drew the line when it came to shooting pregnant game . Besides ; I considered the monetary value of the hides of the two Royal Bengal tigers which I had already shot , to be more than capable of paying all of my bills for the next few months . I had no need to senselessly shoot a third Royal Bengal tiger .
I immediately put Subharam and Gautomda to the work of flaying the Royal Bengal tiger and the Royal Bengal tigress . The Royal Bengal tiger weighed 271 kilograms , while the Royal Bengal tigress weighed 254 kilograms . They laid out a few sheets of tarpaulin , unpacked the skinning knives and straight got down to work . Every once in a while , they were touching up the edges of their spring steel blades on a common river rock . Those crude skinning knives crafted from leaf spring steel , were really adept at taking a razor’s edge with absolutely little to no effort . Even though they both had to work in pitch dark ( with only the aid of our three six cell torchlights ) , neither Subharam nor Gautomda left absolutely anything to be desired in their services .
Once the hides were removed , Gautomda dried these hides with coarse salt after cleaning them properly ( in order to draw out the moisture ) . By 4:45 AM , we had made our way back to the shores of the Buri Goalini Forest Range . True to his word , both Mishu and his dinghy were right there and they were waiting for our return . We set off on the return Journey to Satkhira . The first rays of sunlight were beginning to peak through the skies as the time for sunrise drew closer .
On the journey back to Satkhira , we noticed countless Axis deer on the shores of the Sundarbans . At dawn , they come near the banks of the streams in order to drink the fresh water . Being in the mood for some fresh venison , I decided to shoot one for the larder . I still had three Eley Alphamax LG shells remaining ( two of which had already been loaded into the chambers of my Laurona 12 bore sidelock ejector ) and I asked Mishu to get the dinghy closer to the shore , so that I could get within range of my shotgun . As Mishu expertly drew the dinghy closer to the shore ( about 15 yards away from the herd of the Axis deer ) , I shouldered my Laurona 12 bore sidelock ejector . Taking aim at a large fully matured Axis stag , I pulled my left trigger . A loud gunshot resonated through the entire area . At least four antimony hardened LG slugs caught the Axis stag in the neck region ; shattering the spinal column and taking him out instantly . I sent Subharam and Gautomda to wade through the water and go recover the Axis stag .
Upon reaching Satkhira , I had Subharam and Gautomda field dress the Axis stag which I had shot earlier . I let Subharam have one entire leg of venison . I let Gautomda have one entire leg of venison . I let Mishu have one entire leg of venison . The final leg of venison , I kept for my own future consumption . I also took the rib chops as a Christmas gift for Joy and Rabbani . I knew that they would absolutely love to serve them at their upcoming Christmas party .
And thus , concluded the last time that I had ever shot a Royal Bengal tiger which was not a marauder . I sold both the hides of the Royal Bengal tigers to a dealer near the Myanmar border ( getting a much more handsome sum than what I had originally contemplated ) and spent Christmas ( and New Years Eve ) with Joy and Rabbani .
Eley Alphamax 2 3/4 inch LG shells owned by the author
An Axis stag shot by the author in 2020
