Ranthambore Wildlife Sanctuary
" Ranthambore" . The mere mention of the name evokes exhilaration for nature lovers and ignites their passion towards the Tiger . Ranthambore Situated in Eastern Rajasthan ( 400 kms from Delhi) is one of the biggest success stories of Project Tiger and is named after the two hills surmounting the Sanctuary viz. Ran & Thambore.We (a Group of Six friends) decided to go there this past weekend and started on the Saturday early morning.At the end of 7 hours drive we finally reached Sawoi Madhopur (The nearest Town) . Ranthambore is a huge sanctuary covering around 450 Sq.kms and has around 42 Tigers (32 - Adults , 10 - cubs) and other animals like Leopard,Jackals,Hyena,Sloth Bears,Chitals,Chinkaras,Nilghais,Sambhars,Langurs,Peacocks,Alligators,mongoose and a large number of birds.
There are two ways to travel inside the Sanctuary, either by Jeeps or by Canters . Jeeps are normally pre-booked months earlier (mostly by foreigners) but the open canters are available for booking on the same day. There are two visits , either in the morning (6.30 am) or in the afternoon (3 pm) . We decided to take the Saturday afternoon and sunday morning trips. We started our afternoon trip on a mini-canter (10 seater) . Inside the forest we spotted plenty of Deers (Sambhars,Chitals,Nilghais),Langurs,Peacocks. The forest was very dry and we decided to head towards the Rajbagh lake (the biggest of the lakes inside the forest) in the hope of sighting a Tiger heading towards the Jheel to quench its thirst.
Oh boy ! There it was. Sitting Majestically on a Mantap just close the Lake. The face was clearly visible,staring at us rather nonchalantly . We waited for more than 30 mins for it to get up but unfortunately it didn't.We also spotted plenty of water birds like Egrets,Painted storks,Herons,ibises,kingfishers etc. We were extremely excited on having sighted a tiger and headed back to the Hotel ( Hotel Ganesh - a decent one, close to the Railway station) .
The next morning we started again this time on a 20 seater canter. I was doubtful about sighting a tiger in the morning since it might not be feeling thirsty and hence would be deep inside the forest. We again spotted plenty of Deers,peacocks,Langurs and some mongoose too. Suddenly we saw a huge queue of vehicles ahead of us. In a forest this means someone has sighted a tiger. The next few minutes were unforgettable. We saw a Tigress almost 100 feet away from us sitting along with its cub (probably 2-3 years old). The tigress had lost all fear of humans and inspite of the 10 Jeeps/Canters with 100 odd people,it remained Phlegmatic , occasionally licking its cub. It was a marvelous sight , one I would cherish for a long time to come. We then went to see the Ranthambore fort (Built in 13th Century) , which was almost in ruins. But the view from the top of the fort was fantastic and after that we started driving back to Delhi in our Scorpio.
Although the Lion is hailed as the king of the forest , its the tiger that has fascinated Mankind for years . After having read the Jim Corbett Omnibus ( Books such as Man-eaters of Kumaon , Temple Tigers, Champawat Tiger) , I had always been fascinated by the Tiger . After visits to numerous sanctuaries around the country, finally got the opportunity to go to Ranthambore - the best of all.
The project tiger has been greatly responsible for saving this wonderful mammal from extinction . Tigers have been hunted for their coats and for medicinal purposes or as a token of hunting pride ( Only Humans psyche is capable of celebrating something as trivial as this , that too in a unevenly matched contest ).
Tigers are facing major population losses & extinction. Tigers are killed for sport, skins & body parts. The 1950s saw extinction of the Caspian tiger. The Bali and Java tiger are also extinct. India today has the largest number of tigers, between 3,600 to 4,000.
Why Save Tigers?
Tiger is symbol of wilderness and well-being of the ecosystem. By conserving and saving tigers the entire wilderness ecosystem is conserved. In nature, barring human beings and their domesticates, rest of the ecosystem is wild. Hence conserving wilderness is important and crucial to maintain the life support system. So saving tiger amounts to saving the ecosystem which is crucial for man's own survival.
Travel Tips : The Best Time to sight a tiger is during hot summer months of April-June . Make sure that you plan at least two visits to increase your chance of spotting a tiger.Wear loose light clothes in Summer and Woolen in Winter. Always carry a Good camera & Binoculars to spot & photograph wildlife. Do not talk or make loud noises inside the sanctuary nor should one get down from the Vehicle. Keep your eyes & ears open and the mouth shut.
" Ranthambore" . The mere mention of the name evokes exhilaration for nature lovers and ignites their passion towards the Tiger . Ranthambore Situated in Eastern Rajasthan ( 400 kms from Delhi) is one of the biggest success stories of Project Tiger and is named after the two hills surmounting the Sanctuary viz. Ran & Thambore.We (a Group of Six friends) decided to go there this past weekend and started on the Saturday early morning.At the end of 7 hours drive we finally reached Sawoi Madhopur (The nearest Town) . Ranthambore is a huge sanctuary covering around 450 Sq.kms and has around 42 Tigers (32 - Adults , 10 - cubs) and other animals like Leopard,Jackals,Hyena,Sloth Bears,Chitals,Chinkaras,Nilghais,Sambhars,Langurs,Peacocks,Alligators,mongoose and a large number of birds.
There are two ways to travel inside the Sanctuary, either by Jeeps or by Canters . Jeeps are normally pre-booked months earlier (mostly by foreigners) but the open canters are available for booking on the same day. There are two visits , either in the morning (6.30 am) or in the afternoon (3 pm) . We decided to take the Saturday afternoon and sunday morning trips. We started our afternoon trip on a mini-canter (10 seater) . Inside the forest we spotted plenty of Deers (Sambhars,Chitals,Nilghais),Langurs,Peacocks. The forest was very dry and we decided to head towards the Rajbagh lake (the biggest of the lakes inside the forest) in the hope of sighting a Tiger heading towards the Jheel to quench its thirst.
Oh boy ! There it was. Sitting Majestically on a Mantap just close the Lake. The face was clearly visible,staring at us rather nonchalantly . We waited for more than 30 mins for it to get up but unfortunately it didn't.We also spotted plenty of water birds like Egrets,Painted storks,Herons,ibises,kingfishers etc. We were extremely excited on having sighted a tiger and headed back to the Hotel ( Hotel Ganesh - a decent one, close to the Railway station) .
The next morning we started again this time on a 20 seater canter. I was doubtful about sighting a tiger in the morning since it might not be feeling thirsty and hence would be deep inside the forest. We again spotted plenty of Deers,peacocks,Langurs and some mongoose too. Suddenly we saw a huge queue of vehicles ahead of us. In a forest this means someone has sighted a tiger. The next few minutes were unforgettable. We saw a Tigress almost 100 feet away from us sitting along with its cub (probably 2-3 years old). The tigress had lost all fear of humans and inspite of the 10 Jeeps/Canters with 100 odd people,it remained Phlegmatic , occasionally licking its cub. It was a marvelous sight , one I would cherish for a long time to come. We then went to see the Ranthambore fort (Built in 13th Century) , which was almost in ruins. But the view from the top of the fort was fantastic and after that we started driving back to Delhi in our Scorpio.
Although the Lion is hailed as the king of the forest , its the tiger that has fascinated Mankind for years . After having read the Jim Corbett Omnibus ( Books such as Man-eaters of Kumaon , Temple Tigers, Champawat Tiger) , I had always been fascinated by the Tiger . After visits to numerous sanctuaries around the country, finally got the opportunity to go to Ranthambore - the best of all.
The project tiger has been greatly responsible for saving this wonderful mammal from extinction . Tigers have been hunted for their coats and for medicinal purposes or as a token of hunting pride ( Only Humans psyche is capable of celebrating something as trivial as this , that too in a unevenly matched contest ).
Tigers are facing major population losses & extinction. Tigers are killed for sport, skins & body parts. The 1950s saw extinction of the Caspian tiger. The Bali and Java tiger are also extinct. India today has the largest number of tigers, between 3,600 to 4,000.
Why Save Tigers?
Tiger is symbol of wilderness and well-being of the ecosystem. By conserving and saving tigers the entire wilderness ecosystem is conserved. In nature, barring human beings and their domesticates, rest of the ecosystem is wild. Hence conserving wilderness is important and crucial to maintain the life support system. So saving tiger amounts to saving the ecosystem which is crucial for man's own survival.
Travel Tips : The Best Time to sight a tiger is during hot summer months of April-June . Make sure that you plan at least two visits to increase your chance of spotting a tiger.Wear loose light clothes in Summer and Woolen in Winter. Always carry a Good camera & Binoculars to spot & photograph wildlife. Do not talk or make loud noises inside the sanctuary nor should one get down from the Vehicle. Keep your eyes & ears open and the mouth shut.
posted by Cogito at
Monday, April 26, 2004
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