Maya, Machli, Munna, naam toh suna hoga?: How India’s legendary tigers got their names

“Aaj Maya ko dekha kya?”

“Pata hai aaj Arrow ne kya kiya?”

“Mataram jaisa koi nahin tha!”

These curious questions and animated conversations are overheard outside India’s famed tiger reserves. Mostly after a safari. The talk here is almost always about tigers and tigresses. The guides, forest officials, and many a guest who visit the national parks spread across the country speak with a sense of admiration when talking about the striped cat.

It’s why tigers in India don’t just go by the codes they are assigned – T15, T84, T12. Many are given names – as we do for our pets – by forest guards, guides, and villagers who live on the periphery of the parks.

But how are the names decided? Sometimes by the markings on their body – the stripes also help the forest department distinguish between the tigers. Some tigers have earned monikers because of a trait they display. Almost every tiger reserve has had a “Charger”. No prizes for guessing it’s the one who charges at safari vehicles. (It’s usually a mock attack warning you to leave them alone.)

But some names are rather curious. Why is a tiger in Maharashtra’s Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve called Madkasur? How did the famous Machali get her name? There’s no science behind this; it’s all emotion and just part of tiger lore.

On World Tiger Day, we bring some stories we heard from guides and naturalists who totally dote on these giant cats.

Machli, the crocodile-killer

Let’s start with the legendary Machli, arguably the most photographed tiger in the world. She wasn’t called so because she went after fish.

Interestingly, it was the mother of this famous tigress from Rajasthan’s Ranthambore National Park who was called Machli because she had fish-like markings on her cheek.

“When BBC came to make a documentary on the tiger reserve, the original Machli was dead. Her daughter labelled T-16, had taken over the territory near the water bodies in Ranthambore and continued with the same name,” Pranad Patil, a naturalist who worked at Ranthambore, said.

This Machli went on to become a legend in Ranthambore – she was called the “Queen Mother” and “Lady of the Lake”. Her stories are told even today and one which oft gets repeated dates back to June 2003.

Ranthambore was in the middle of a drought and a crocodile was around a lake, which was part of her territory. Machli had her cubs in tow, which she escorted to safety and then returned to take on the 14-foot reptile. The fight continued for an hour and a half and the tigress emerged victorious, earning the moniker “crocodile-killer”.

Machli died in August 2018 – she was almost 20, living well past the average age of tigers, which is eight to ten years. And she generated approximately $10 million in tourism revenue for Rajasthan. She didn’t shy away from tourists or run away when safari vehicles rolled into the park. She was camera friendly – laying around in broad daylight, taking on male tigers, and even slaying the crocodile in front of visitors.

Arrowhead, aka Machli junior

Machli is gone but here genes live on. Among the most famous tigresses of Ranthambore, today is Arrowhead, the granddaughter of Machli.

If you look closely, there’s an arrow-like mark on the tigress’ forehead and that’s how she got her name.

Born to Machli’s daughter, Krishna, Arrowhead is a lot like her grandmother. A blog on the Ranthambore National Park website calls her ‘Machli junior’. She hasn’t taken on a crocodile yet but she is bold nonetheless.

She challenged her mother Krishna and took over the prime lake territory, which even Machli dominated and went on to be called the “Queen of the Lakes”.

A superstar tigress, she was unafraid of tourists thronging Ranthambore. She walked in front of vehicles fearlessly and when her cubs were tiny, she would not hesitate to parade them. Arrowhead was every wildlife photographer’s delight.

But in what seems like tradition, she has been pushed out of her prime territory. The famous “lake area” has been taken over by Arrowhead’s daughter Riddhi.

Collarwali, the supermom of Pench

The legendary tigress played a big role in reviving the fortunes of Pench Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh. T-15 came to be known as Collarwali because of the radio collar she wore to track her movements. The collar became defunct but the name stayed on.

But that’s not where her story ends. Collarwali was no regular tigress. She was the one who made history, giving birth to 29 cubs in eight litters over her lifetime, which is believed to be a world record. As Collarwali aged, Pench started calling her Mataram or respected mother.

The tigress breathed her last in January this year and was given an emotional farewell by the forest department, guides, and villagers. She made Pench famous and will never be forgotten.

Maya, the ‘Tiger Queen of Taru’

Almost every tiger reserve has its showstopper. Maharashtra's Tadoba has become synonymous with Maya.

On record, she is T-12 but in the wildlife world, she is known as Maya. She has a mark resembling the alphabet M on her shoulder. And she is quite the enchantress, that’s why the name.

“Once you see her, you can’t get your eyes off her. Every tourist who visits Tadoba says ‘Humein Maya dekni hai (We want to see Maya),” says Arpit Parekh, a freelance naturalist who conducts tours of the reserve.

Wildlife filmmaker Aishwarya Sridhar has documented the life of the tigress in a film titled “Tiger Queen of Taru”, which was shot over six years. “I was 15 when I saw Maya for the first time. She was a cub who lost her mother and parted ways with her two siblings. Over time, I’ve seen her grow in the wild and fend for herself. She’s fierce, charismatic and tourist-friendly,” Sridhar told The New Indian Express last year.

“After Machli, she’s the most popular tigress. I can bet that she’s the crowd-puller at Tadoba and has a worldwide fan-following,” she added.

Maya is always hitting headlines – sometimes for the wrong reasons. In November last year, she killed a forest guard in the Kolara range of the core zone of Tadoba. But her behaviour was considered a deviation, as tigers keep away from people moving in groups.

Tadoba also has a famous tiger named Madkasur/Matkasur after an area in the forest where he was first spotted. Regulars to the forest say that Adivasis made liquor and stored it in matkas (pots) and created a myth that the place was visited by a “spirit” who drank from them. This was to scare people and keep authorities away from the illegal alcohol they were brewing. The spirit was called Matkasur and the tiger who was dominant in that region was named after it.

Munna, the OG CAT

In Madhya Pradesh’s Kanha, everyone came to see a tiger, T-17, for its famous stripes. The unique markings on its forehead formed the words CAT.

The tiger, who dominated the Kisli zone of the park, was lovingly called Munna. The story of how he was named is endearing.

Munna injured his foot in a territorial clash with another tiger and was seen limping by the guides. That reminded them of one of their peers, who had polio and would walk with a limp. T-17 then became Munna, a name that stuck on.

He lived for close to 21 years but could not move after his limbs were paralysed. He was shifted to Van Vihar National Park in October 2019 and died a year later under the care of veterinary staff.

But even today, Munna’s tales are told in Kanha. His son is called Chhota Munna.

Today India’s tigers are famous like never before. They are the big crowd-pullers. Some visit Kanha today for the tigress DJ, others are flocking to Ranthambore for Riddhi. Jim Corbett National Park has the famous Paarwali.

The people who work closely with the forests have an unspoken bond with these majestic cats. And that is what makes tiger tales from India truly memorable.

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