Searching for Tigers - Part Two – Ranthambore

Do you see the tiger in this photo?

Searching for tigers in the wild is tough business. If that quote sounds familiar it’s because I started part one of this post with the exact statement, I thought it prudent to reiterate. Our tiger safari crew was pumped-up heading into our fourth and second to last tiger spotting opportunity. We had just spent several days touring the countryside of India with stops at Khajuraho, Orchha, Agra and Karauli before pulling into Ranthambore on an early Monday afternoon. We’ve seen all the temples and forts we can handle and now we’re ready for the real reason we’re all here, tigers. Ranthambore National Park in the state of Rajasthan is possibly India’s most popular tiger spotting destination. Many safari vehicles line the main road of the town and everywhere you turn there is a sign advertising safari booking.

Our Tiger Crew with Yaddu in the front.

Waiting to get into Ranthambore National Park

Our 20 person cantor safari vehicle pulled-up to the Raj Palace hotel and all seven of us jumped-in and took our seats. Five more minutes and a group of 13 boarded the beast of a safari truck for a twenty minute ride into the park. First stop was some passport formalities and a surprise 400 Rupee ($8.50 USD) fee for using my video camera inside the park. Ranthambore is divided up into six different tourist zones totaling approximately 400 square kilometers. Your zone number is determined by random (supposedly) with some zones being distinctly better than others. We lucked out and were granted access to zone three, the supposed best zone of the park, our hopes were high and it seemed fate was on our side.

A crocodile in Ranthambore

Sixty minutes into the hot and bumpy ride our dust-filled eyes caught sight of fresh tiger tracks on the road. A big male heading one direction while a female heading in the opposite. You can tell the difference in the tracks by the toe length, a female tiger has a slightly longer toe. Along with the tracks we came upon some fresh, very fresh by the smell, tiger poop in the road. The driver followed the big male’s footprints up the winding dirt road through the foothills. At this point our adrenaline is pumping, any moment we can turn the corner and come face-to-face with a wild Bengal tiger.

We tracked the tiger until his tracks vanished into the thick brush. When his trail was no more our driver pulled the truck over and parked. We waited there for quite some time hoping the tiger might backtrack and make an appearance. I should also add that there were about six other safari trucks in the area, all jostling for position to spot the elusive tiger. Unfortunately fate was not on our side that day. The elusive tiger never reappeared and we spent our afternoon driving around the park looking at various types of deer, some birds and a few crocodiles. The crocodiles were the bright spot of the afternoon as we were pretty tired of seeing the deer and birds. Sunset came and we were out of the park by 6:00pm with an optimistic view for our 5^th and final safari the next morning.

Sunset in Ranthambore

Six o’clock the next morning came all too fast. Pamela and I jumped out of bed with four minutes to spare for our safari meet time. We threw our clothes on and ran outside expecting to see everyone waiting for us on the truck. Fortunately, or unfortunately, our safari truck that morning was at least 30 minutes late. When it finally showed-up our crew of seven was quickly ushered onto a relatively full cantor, most stuck in the very back, Pamela and I up front sharing a seat. Not only was the truck 30 minutes late but we also were given permission to visit zone one of the park, supposedly one of the worst zones. Fate was not on our side that morning.

Larege male deer in Ranthambore

One of the many langur monkeys in the park.

Thirty minutes into the ride things weren’t looking well, we stopped to look at many little birds and deer, all of which our crew could have done without. We were there to spot tigers, we didn’t want to spend 10 minutes staring at a little bird. We drove around for the next 90 minutes looking for any signs of a tiger but to no avail. We spent part of the time dodging other safari vehicles which always seemed to be going in the opposite direction as us on tiny little roads. Our safari truck was teeming with small children and hearing impaired adults, all of whom talk very-very loudly, any tiger in their right mind would have been catching the next train to Mumbai if they heard us coming.

Carol, Linda and Steph waiting patiently to go.

Our 5^th and final safari culminated in a 25 minute bathroom break, which we found very fitting. All the safari trucks stopped, the guides had some tea and discussed the mornings events or lack thereof, while our tiger crew waited ever so patiently in the truck. Our driver and guide eventually corralled the remainder of our trucks occupants and we drove back to the hotel with very dejected looks on our faces.

The only tiger we saw on this day.

Ranthambore may be a decent place to spot tigers but we felt like we had a much better chance in Bandhavgarh National Park. If we were to do this again, which we probably won’t, we’d definitely skip Ranthambore and spend more time in Bandhavgarh. In Ranthambore your chances of getting a poor zone (like we did with zone one) are pretty high and zone selection could make or break your safari. Not to mention the tiger density in Ranthambore is much less than Bandhavgarh. Ranthambore is reported to contain about 34 tigers spread out over 400 square kilometers where Bandhavgarh is reported to have 23 tigers spread out over 106 square kilometers.

Our tiger, from 30 meters in the near dark.

We came to India to see wild tigers and we succeeded in seeing one wild tiger in Bandhavgarh. We hoped to see many more but with a dwindling population I think we were fortunate to see just one, especially considering we were here just after monsoon season which as we know now, is the worst time to visit. a

Here is the video we managed to get of the only wild tiger we saw in India. Unfortunately the tiger was at some distance in the near dark so it's a little hard to see.

Along with our tiger spotting came many other positives from this portion of our honeymoon. First and foremost we met a new group of friends in our wonderful tiger safari crew. Second we visited many beautiful places in India, most of which I’d never even heard of before this trip and last but not least we had the opportunity to tour rural India and see how India lives outside of the large cities. We will forever cherish the memories of this trip and are so thankful to have the opportunity to come to such a place as India for a chance to view the highly endangered Bengal Tiger.

All the photos from our Tiger Safaris can be found here: https://picasaweb.google.com/117257906652666550268/SearchingForTigers?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Cheers for Now –

Pamela and Dave