How wildlife shaped insurgent survival: We learnt to live with tigers in dark, but gaurs terrified us most, say surrendered Maoist commanders

In the pitch-black forests of central India, recently surrendered Maoist commanders say they had gradually learned to live with tigers moving silently through the darkness — studying their behaviour and trusting the predators’ instinct to avoid humans.

But the animal that terrified them most, they say, was not the tiger — it was the gaur (Bos gaurus gaurus), the massive Indian bison that chased cadres, blocked forest trails and forced entire Maoist squads to abandon routes.The revelations, shared exclusively with TOI, offer a rare glimpse into how wildlife shaped insurgent survival in the forests around Kanha National Park and adjoining areas of Balaghat and Mandla along the Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh border.

Former Maoist commander Rakesh Hodi, a resident of Gadchiroli who carried a bounty of Rs 62 lakh before surrendering, said encounters with tigers were surprisingly common during the years his group spent inside the forest. “You get used to them. In the dark, you can sense where they are. Tigers watch you for a moment and then move away,” Hodi said.

He recalled one particularly close encounter in the forest area inside Kanha National Park in Mandla district, when a tiger suddenly appeared while his squad was moving through the jungle.

“The tiger jumped over me and ran away. We were frightened, but the animal had no interest in attacking,” Hodi said. According to him, leopards behaved in a similar manner, slipping quietly into the undergrowth once they sensed human presence. “After some time, we understood their pattern. We slowed down, stayed quiet and let them pass. In the forest, you learn to live with tigers,” he said.Hodi said the jungle itself often functioned as an early warning system against security forces.

Sudden alarm calls from monkeys, birds rising together from tree canopies, or deer sprinting through the undergrowth often indicated approaching police patrols or Hawk Force teams. “Animals react before humans realise anything. When monkeys scream suddenly or birds fly together, you know something is moving in the forest,” Hodi said.

Such cues often gave Maoist squads crucial minutes to scatter or change direction.Despite frequent encounters with predators, the commanders said the animal that disrupted their movements the most was the gaur. Deepak alias Sudhakar Uike, a resident of Sonwani in Balaghat and former DVCM of the Malajkhand Dal carrying a bounty of Rs 29 lakh, said gaurs repeatedly chased cadres during night movements. “They don’t move aside like other animals. They stand on the trail or charge straight at you,” Uike said.According to him, encounters with gaur herds often forced Maoist groups to abandon carefully planned routes. “If we saw a herd near a water source or trail, we had to retreat immediately. Night marches were cancelled and sometimes supplies were left behind because everyone ran in different directions,” Uike said, adding, “Gaurs don’t bluff. They keep coming.”Uike also recounted dangerous encounters with sloth bear during his early years in the Maoist organisation.

When he first joined the group, he said he was deployed as a security guard in the Keradehi area of the Tanda region when a bear suddenly attacked. “I ran and climbed a tree to escape. My companions later came to my rescue,” Uike said.In another incident, a bear charged at their group again. “One of my companions shone a torch light directly into the bear’s eyes,” he said. “The light confused it and the animal ran away.” Although bear encounters were dangerous, he said, cadres sometimes managed to escape.

“With bears there is still a chance. But when a gaur starts chasing you, there is no certainty.”The surrendered commanders said wildlife sometimes inadvertently helped them avoid security operations. Hodi recalled an incident in Bichhiya tehsil of Mandla district, when members of his squad had gone to collect food and water while security forces moved into the area following an informant’s tip-off. “Suddenly animals started running through the forest,” Hodi said.

“That told us something was wrong.” By the time police and Hawk Force teams reached the area and firing broke out, the cadres had already dispersed.In another incident near Parswada area of Balaghat, unusual monkey alarm calls alerted the Maoist squad to possible movement of security forces. “When monkeys start shouting continuously, you know someone is approaching,” Hodi said. The warning allowed the squad to reposition and escape even as firing occurred nearby.One of the surrendered commanders also said that during their years in the forest they never killed or poached wildlife for food. However, he admitted that in some areas Maoist groups occasionally received supplies of dried meat from local villagers. According to him, the meat was usually believed to be from wild boars and was carried by sympathisers to remote forest camps during long stays in the jungle.Forest officials say the Kanha-Balaghat-Mandla landscape hosts one of the highest densities of gaurs in central India, and the massive animals dominate forest trails, clearings and water points.

Known for their territorial behaviour and powerful charges, they can pose a serious threat to anyone travelling on foot through the jungle.More than a dozen Maoists have surrendered in Balaghat district in recent months. Several of them say wildlife encounters were an unavoidable part of their years in the forest — sometimes offering warning signals, sometimes posing grave danger. But among all the animals they encountered, they say one remained the most feared.