Animal armoury

Come to think of it, virtually every species of wildlife is admirably equipped to defend itself against predators, nature having endowed i...

Come to think of it, virtually every species of wildlife is admirably equipped to defend itself against predators, nature having endowed its creations with the means to fight to the very finish.

This was forcefully brought home to me during a wild pig shoot I witnessed in Munnar way back in 1965. A local planter had sent his Alsatian into a tea field to flush out a boar while he waited on the periphery with his shotgun. Suddenly there was a scuffle and the dog yelped several times in agony. A little later we found it dead, its intestines spilling grotesquely out of its lacerated flank. With one vicious swipe of its razor-sharp tusks, the boar had fatally disembowelled it. In the mid-1970s I witnessed another dramatic example of self-defence in the wilds 8212; a sight seen by few, I understand. A sambar stag had been cornered by a pack of six wild dogs in the Eravikulam National Park near Munnar. Though the odds were stacked against it, the stag put up a very spirited fight. With its head lowered and antlers sweeping menacingly, it managed to keep its attackers at bay for quite some time, even impaling and tossing one into the air. But, driven by hunger, the canines grimly persisted, repeatedlysnapping at their quarry8217;s legs, only to retreat in the face of its flailing hooves and thrusting antlers. Eventually, one of the dogs sneaked in from behind and nicked a tendon in one of its hind legs. As the crippled herbivore collapsed, the dogs pounced on it, bringing its valiant resistance to a gory end.

The tiger, we are told, has a very healthy respect for the gaur 8212; and for good reason too. For the latter, endowed with massive horns and brute strength, has been known to fatally maul carnivores trying to prey on its young. In a tragic incident in Munnar several years ago, an estate worker inadvertently walked into a bull gaur in fading light. Both man and beast were equally startled. In self-defence the gaur attacked the man and mortally gored him. Talking of carnivores, I once attended the post-mortem of an adult panther found dead in a tea estate near Munnar. I was awed by its fearsome arsenal of claws and fangs. Obviously, once attacked, its prey had little chance of survival. Interestingly, later the big cat8217;s claws and incisors mysteriously disappeared 8212; filched by the locals who prize them as amulets!

Even smaller species are known to become unusually aggressive when in danger. Some time ago a local poacher shot and wounded a Nilgiri langur, an endangered species whose flesh is believed to cure asthma and arthritis. While retrieving it, the langur attacked him, clawing and tearing at his face and chest. He was duly treated for his injuries which he glibly attributed to an attack by a rabid dog! Another weapon in the Nilgiri langur8217;s arsenal is its eerie call which can be quite unnerving to the uninitiated 8212; a series of full-throated whoops which erupt suddenly in the stillness of the jungle and rise to a scary crescendo, drowning out all other sounds. It8217;s guaranteed to send a chill down one8217;s spine, especially if one is alone!

Even the lowly porcupine can be quite formidable when attacked. As a teenager, I recall our dog sniffing out and cornering a porcupine in a lantana thicket. Undaunted, the rodent resolutely faced the dog with its armoury of needle-sharp quills bristling and rattling menacingly 8212; quite an intimidating sight. The dog, quite sensibly, chose to retreat. Recently I observed an ordinary crow take on, single-handed, a huge kite that had tried to raid its nest. Cawing agitatedly, the crow launched a fierce aerial attack on the marauder, viciously jabbing at it with its beak. With a persistence I have seldom seen in birds, the crow closely pursued the raptor for well over 15 minutes, punitively pummelling it before it finally escaped. That was certainly something to crow about!