On the wilD siDe.. Close enCountEr….

Close encounter with the wilder side…u cannot miss an encounter with the tigers of Ranthambore… this is one of the biggest and most renowned national park in Northern India… located in the Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan, ~ 130 km from Jaipur. this was one of the famous and former hunting grounds of the Maharajas of Jaipur, though lost its royal shine, today the Ranthambore National Park terrain is major wildlife tourist attraction spot frequented by many wildlife photographers n wildlife lovers…. my experience at the park was unique…. in all my 3 safari tours I managed to site tigers… once it had hunted a tortoise and sat relishing its treat… though it was quite a struggle trying to get the meat from the shell…. in another occasion we were driving up a very narrow trail and came face to face with a full grown female tigeress…. it STARED at us straight in the eye… we had to gradually back down trying not to make too much noise least we catch its interest….. she the kept coming in our direction only to steer away at the last minute… on the last trip we came across two of them lazying along the river and another in the water hole… such majestic animals obliviant to we humans….. we waited for some time watching in awe… and then drove away leaving them at peace in their environment….

The park is most famous for it’s diurnal tigers.. Sundari/Satra (T-17) is the most dominant tiger in the forest she has one of the largest territory… Like her mother Machali she too loves exploring territory and in the rage of such efforts she had expanded her territory to greater extent. Quite amazing but she even fought with her mother and push out out from her territory… Since 2008-09 Satara is ruling the areas of the lakes. The interesting part of this tigress is that she is not shy of vehicles coming to the reserve and makes the tourists comfortable while roaming around.

Ranthambore wildlife sanctuary is known for its tigers and is one of the best places in India to see these animals in their natural jungle habitat. Tigers can be easily spotted even in the daytime. The best times for tiger sightings at Ranthambore National Park are in November and May.

Tigers are extremely possessive and territorial animals prefering to mark their territories and then guard them very fiercely. territories are chosen based on the high density of prey animals. The method of marking their boundaries may include using urine, secretions from anal glands or imprinting scratch marks on tree barks, bushes and rocks making up the boundary of the possessed area. Preferring a solitary existence the tiger can even give its life to retain the mastership of its area, which may extend up to 100 sq km. i love this forest because of its setting and the way the ruins are surrounded by the forest the animals are often seen basking in the walls of the forts in the afternoon sun…. and the amazing view of the Rajbag Lake from Ranthambore Fort….