Ranthambhore National Tiger Park

The park covers a core area of 106 sq miles but the total area of the park now includes around 400 sq miles  Within its boundaries are forests  lakes and boulder filled gorges. The wild life here includes Panther Jackal and Hyena, many spices of dear, and a wide variety of birds, but the main attraction is the Tiger. We were told that there are a total of 32 Tigers in the park and also 9 cubs so our chance of seeing this magnificent animal was pretty slim. But undeterred we booked our trip for 1000 Rps each as soon as we arrived for an early start the next morning.

Up at 5.45 no time to shower (I don’t think the water would have been hot anyhow) and out of the room by 6.15 we just have time to grab a coffee before we are picked up by a small 18 person open top bus and head of to the next lodge to pick up more people. People entering the park must all have a valid passport with them or some other type of photo ID (I think it is in case the body needs to be identified) and we all have to fill out a disclaimer before we can enter the park and we pay an extra charge of 400 Rps  for our video camera, the strange thing is that most cameras today can take video but they haven’t got that bit yet. So as we enter the park we are ambushed by yet again the touts all selling the same things from t shirts to hats and even the deck of playing cards with tigers and wild hogs on the back (just what everyone needs) It has rained in the night which is not very common for this time of the year and we are told this will have upset the mood of the animals in the jungle, I don’t blame them as I also don’t like the rain!! As we are bused along the narrow winding dirt track it reminds me of a scene right out of Jurassic park the only thing missing is the high voltage fence, and I wonder to myself when feeding time is around here?? The bus is pretty noisy with its squeaking breaks and knocking suspension never mind the fact that we are now in a convey of three that’s a lot of noise if we are expected to see the famous Tiger but I am assured by our wild life ranger that the tiger is used to seeing this and will not be bothered by it. 

Tiger Chocolate 

As we venture deeper into the forest we see the smaller white spotted deer in small herds, the males supporting some quite handsome racks, we are told by our ranger that these animals are like small chocolates for the Tiger that prefers to eat the larger Sambar Deer and sometimes even the wild hogs that we can see in the distance under the trees. I think to myself that there are too many of these animals around and they are all looking way to relaxed for there to be any tigers in the area, a fact that is confirmed by our guide ten minutes later but he adds that we have to listen for the warning call that these animals will give if a tiger is close by.

Our ride through the jungle is around one hour before we pull over for a bathroom stop and to stretch our legs. After ten minutes we are back on the bus and heading back in the direction we came We have seen many birds some are quite tame not threatened by us at all even sitting on the hands of some people. Peacocks are all over flying up in the trees where the monkeys leap above. But alas no Tigers.

The one tree I see that stands out is the Gum Tree, this has a bark similar to the Arbutus trees we have back home but it is a stark white in color with no leaves present at this time of year our ranger tells me that the locals call this the Ghost Tree because at night it glows in the dark, now that would be spooky if you didn’t know about it.

We exit the gate stopping to report in and let the officials know we are all present and accounted for when further  down the road there seems to be some commotion going on and the guides of two busses calling are back and forth to each other pointing  into the now dense bush to the left hand side of the bus. It is not long before we are told that there is a large male Tiger walking along parallel to the road about 250 meters in. Now the noise level has risen quite a bit and I think any self respecting Tiger would surely high tail it out of there, but then calmly out of the dense bush I see something move. Wow yes it is a Tiger, a male, about 300 kg we are told. Not deterred by the noise at all being made by the now several busses and small jeeps that have gathered. As luck would somehow have it we seem to be place right front and center and I manage to squeeze off and get a couple of  not to bad photos as this large animal saunters along at his own pace. I can’t believe our luck, 32 Tigers in a park this size and we get to see one. I am slightly over come with what is standing in front of me. I just want to get out the bus to get a better shot but that is NOT allowed. So as I watch him disappear into the thick undergrowth again I can’t help but feel very honored to have seen such a wonderful sight. 

The Illusive Tiger

So many Monkeys I dont think the Tiger likes these!!