“When the Tiger Crushed the Phone”

Munna’s Tale

This happened back in 2015. At that time, it had only been two years since I had taken up my resort in Kanha. Two guests from Raipur were on their way back from Jabalpur after finishing some work. The journey back home was long, so they decided to stay one night at Kanha.

They had absolutely no knowledge of wildlife — they didn’t even know that you could actually see a tiger in the wild!

That night, after dinner, they joined us at the bonfire. We began chatting, and I started telling them some jungle stories. I told them about Munna — the legendary tiger of Kanha. I mentioned how he had the word “CAT” marked naturally on his forehead, how he often walked along the roads, and many more such things.

They were so intrigued and moved by the story that they said, “Bhai, although we’re supposed to leave for Raipur tomorrow morning, if possible, can you arrange a safari for us?”

We managed to get them seats in a shared jeep safari. Early morning, with their breakfast packed, we sent them into the park.

After about an hour of roaming in the forest, they reached Munna’s territory. Within moments of hearing two or three alarm calls — Munna appeared! He came walking on the road and began following their jeep.

Now, for someone seeing a tiger for the first time in their life, the excitement is beyond words. In that overwhelming moment, one of the guests tried capturing a video… but his phone slipped from his hand and fell on the ground.

But obviously, you can’t just get down and pick up the phone in front of a tiger! So the jeep went ahead a little and stopped to wait. Munna, still walking majestically, reached the phone.

Then, Munna placed his paw right on the phone. The ground was a bit rocky, and this 250 kg beast stood firm — right on the phone. The screen cracked under the sheer weight.

Eventually, after some time, Munna walked back into the forest. Only then did the guide get down and retrieve the phone.

The screen was shattered. But when those guests returned from the safari, their faces were lit up with so much joy after seeing Munna that the broken phone didn’t even matter to them anymore.

Since then — the very people who had never seen a tiger in their lives — started going on safaris four times a year!

And that… was just one of the many unforgettable stories of Munna.

(Please ignore the quality pictures taken from basic DSLR)

T-17 Munna

Kanha

2015