This weekend some friends and I went to Ranthambore to visit the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve to see if we could spot a tiger in the wild. There are about 35 tigers in the reserve which is about 200 square miles - so the odds aren't great that you'll see one.
We set out at 5:30 am on Sunday morning for our first foray into the park. Six of us in a gypsy jeep with a naturalist/guide and a driver. It was really a beautiful morning, not too hot, well, maybe it just didn't feel too hot (I may be getting used to this wretched heat). We entered the park enthusiastic and feeling optimistic about seeing a tiger. We had been told that lately the gypsy had about a 70-80% success rate in seeing a tiger and we knew it was a bit easier this time of year since we could stalk the tigers at the few watering holes available to them.
The park is actually set up in zones and we had been assigned to zone 1. Our driver drove to various watering spots looking for tracks. Along the way, we came across spotted deer, sambar deer (which I think resemble small horses rather than deer), rabbits, and tons of peacock. I have always thought peacocks were endangered, or at least in small supply - like the bald eagle. That is so not the case. There were peacocks and peahens everywhere. At one point, we actually saw a peacock start to strut his stuff - shake his booty and unveil his plumage - he did a couple of turns so that all the peahens (and us) could admire him. I'd never seen that before and it was truly magnificent. It helped to soften the blow that by the end of this trip into the forest we had not come across a tiger.
We went back to our hotel for breakfast and a break before our afternoon trip. The afternoon trip proved to be quite different than the morning. We set out around 3:30 and our guide was able to get us into a different zone. We were feeling optimistic again. The terrain for the afternoon trip was different from the morning. It seemed less green, far more dessert like. While we still came across wildlife, our guide told us that he wasn't stopping for anything but tigers. After driving around for about 45 minutes, we came across 3 other gypsy jeeps - a couple with professional photographers (or at least it appeared so from their cameras) - settled by a cave. It seems that a tiger had been spotted earlier in the day entering the cave. It was expected that the tiger was napping and would be coming out - any time now - to get a drink of water. So we decided to sit and wait.
Only about a half an hour later, we heard some deeping growling. The tiger was waking up. For about 15 minutes you could see him licking his ginormous chops, stretching and hear him growling. And then all of a sudden he decided to exit the cave - I nearly dropped the binoculars I was using to watch him. He was so much larger than I expected - nearly 500 lbs. While we had been waiting - another 6 or so gypsies had joined us - the tiger couldn't have cared less if there was one gypsy or 50. He walked out of the cave as if he owned the world. And in a way, he really does. He's king of this part of the forest and we all knew it.
At this point, we and the other jeeps were scurrying around trying to give chase - and follow him. We made it to a clearing to see that the tiger had settled in by a rock - apparently not thirsty enough yet. So we sat and waiting. And waited. After about 45 minutes the tiger arose again - again astounding me with his size - and walked toward all of us on his way to the watering hole. It was at this point that I was able to really appreciate his size and amazing physique as well as the designs on his face and body. For some strange reason I didn't expect to see lines on his legs or tail - but there they were. Again, he acted completely unfazed by the fact that there were about a 100 people clamoring to take his picture. He simply sauntered past us to his watering hole.
I have to say, this was one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced in my life. To see a tiger in his natural habitat, up close and personal, it took my breath away. My pictures don't do it justice. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to take this trip and was lucky enough to actually come across a tiger.
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