Tami's version of Our Adventures through India, SouthEast Asia + Beyond

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

Ranthambore National Park, Rajasthan

We were close and figured - despite India's sub-par record on nature conservation - we had to take a stab at seeing a Bengal tiger in the flesh. Rantahmbore covers an area of 392 sq. km. and was once a Maharajas residence + hunting ground. The evidence of this is still present in the numerous lodges, temples + hides that dot the landscape and by the huge Fort that tops a rocky crag in the center of it all. Oddly enough, the park was still hunted by the Maharaja, and probably others, for years after it received the national park designation in 1980. From 1982 to 1992 the tiger population dropped from 44 to only 18 due to poaching. A plan for improvemnt called Project Tiger was instituted and today the tiger count has risen back to 40, including cubs.

We set out early in an open-topped cantor truck. Darin + I were the first aboard, but by the time we'd stopped at several other hotels the cantor was filled with rowdy Indian families, around 20 people in total. My hopes of seeing a tiger sank. The park was strikingly beautiful though, with rocky crags + lakes, so the ride itself was a pleasure. As we drove around the lakes, watching herds of sambar + spotted deer enjoying their morning drinks, the Indians munched on snacks and chatted away, seemingly more interested in social hour than a safari. Plastic bags + wrappers were carelessly tossed out the side and our guide had to hop out and retrieve them on more than one occasion. I was taking deep breaths, trying to not let my temper rise and just enjoy the nature, feeling glad that at least the deer weren't scared away by all the noise. We saw tons of exotic birds, languors + wild peacocks too. It was beautiful, but no tiger. We searched and searched. The guide pointed out fresh paw prints from a young female. Time was running out and still no sign. Then, we saw a lone sambar at the edge of the lake where a couple other cantors had converged, so we quickly drove over and stopped the engine to wait. This finally had the Indians attention, though they were still talking and our guide kept shushing them. The deer jumped in the lake and swam to the other side, but nothing pursued it. Something must have scared it though, so we cruised around the area, searching. All the jeeps and cantors were here now and had created a traffic jam on the dirt lane in their efforts to give everyone their money's worth. The Indians had all rushed to the front and were climbing on top of each other for a better view, their volume was rising with the excitement. The people in the cantor just ahead of us began snapping photos and the volume of our vehicle rose even louder until even Indians in the other cantor were shushing them. It seemed hopeless. I decided to sit back and just wait to see what happened. Many minutes passed and then, lo and behold, a muscular animal of orange, black + white began walking straight towards where I was sitting. I couldn't believe my luck! She was beautiful! The poor thing looked like she just wanted to get away from all the racket - I couldn't blame her. I felt pretty blessed to have been graced by her presence though, and that made it all worth it.


Check the "link" for more photos from Rajasthan

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