Ranthambore. Just the name conjures up images of tigers, bold & unafraid, uncaring of the dozens of tourists clicking away on everything from cellphones to those big bazookas. I visited the place last week, as part of a tour organized by Toehold and came back with a card full of photos of not just tigers but also of some of the other wonderful animals that inhabit this forest. We did totally eight safaris and we sighted a tiger in three of them. Twice it was the same tiger and once a different one. Now, I'm told that for Ranthambore this is a below average ratio of safaris to sightings, but the forest was so lush and green after some of the best rains in 20 years that we may have missed a couple of sightings. Every single rivulet and stream is flowing merrily and the lakes are full to the brim. In these conditions, tigers won't come out for water as often as they would in summer or in one of the drier years, as they would be getting sufficient water wherever they happen to be. So we were fortunate to sight whatever we could.
I have a Nikon D7200 and I had hired a Nikon 200-500 mm lens for the tour, so all photos you see below are taken using that combination. I've been debating whether to purchase the lens, but somehow I'm not willing to swipe the card just yet.
All tigers in Ranthambore have a number and a name, following a system by the Forest Department. The names are generally based on the markings seen on their face or body. Ranthambore is also divided into ten different zones, five of which (Z1 - Z5) is on one side of Sawai Madhopur and the other five (Z6 - Z10) is on the other side. When we visited, Zones 3, 4, and 5 were having the most sightings with the other zones having very few. Zone 8 is a nightmare if you have a bad back, since it is full of steep rocky terrain that needs to be negotiated. We didn't visit 6, 7, 9 or 10. The other zones are mainly flat land with a lot of lakes, so riding around in a safari Gypsy is not a problem there.
First day, first show. Zone 4. T-28, the Star male. When we came across him, he was relaxing in the shade probably after a heavy meal.
He looks up to see who is disturbing his slumber.
And in a very, very human looking gesture he starts waving his front paw, as though to say "Go Away!". He was probably swatting flies, really.
Ah, something out there grabs his attention.
It is this pair of Sambar deer, unaware of who lies in wait. They are slowly walking towards him.
"Don't they look tasty?", says Star. At this key moment, my camera decides to focus on the grass in the background for whatever reason! :(
"But I'm too full and just want to sleep. They look like too much work to me!" And I have the focus back.
"Ah, escaped!" thinks the stag before running way with alarm calls and raised tails.
Thus ended the first safari. Oh we did see some other interesting things like this owlet keeping a close watch on proceedings:
Next up was Zone 5. While we didn't see any tigers there, we did catch a glimpse of a very rare King Vulture. This bird is now classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN list, meaning there are not many left in the wild.
I also managed to capture a brightly lit Spotted Deer against a dark background. Had to go down to -2 EV to get this shot:
The next day, we were in Zone 8 which as I mentioned is terrible territory. But we did get some good photos in great light. Like this Nilgai mother and kid:
A closeup of the kid, with thorns sticking on its face:
A Sambar family pose for their portrait:
We were in Zone 3 later, when T-85, named Pacman put in an appearance:
He really looks fierce and willing to take on the world. See that mark over his right eye? It kind of resembles Pacman, doesn't it? Hence the name.
This is how close he came up to the safari vehicles. Notice the guy holding up a mobile, in which the tiger is also seen. Talk about picture in picture!
This was also my closest encounter with a tiger. I couldn't zoom out any futher and I could've just reached out my hand to touch him.
Early the next morning, we found him again attempting to cross the river to get to his resting place:
He snarls at a crocodile in his path, demanding he get out of the way:
And then leaps into the water!
Gets up on a thin strip of land leading to his haveli:
Swims the final bit across:
And goes away.
That ended our tiger sightings for the tour. We were happy to have seen these majestic beasts in their natural habitat and thankful for getting a lot of photos. We also saw a few other interesting birds and animals, like this pair of Scops Owls, one of which looks at us with one eye, as though to ask "Who goes there?"
And this baby croc on a rock:
We also spotted a Stork Billed Kingfisher, a big representative of the KF family:
And a Red Vented Bulbul, with a fresh catch:
All in all, it was a very satisfying trip and I sure hope to go back sometime soon. As usual, I hope you enjoyed seeing the photos as much as I did taking them. Comments and critique are always welcome. Until next time, ciao.