Year of the Tiger – Ranthambhore, India

The first time I went out in search of Tigers was in Jim Corbett National Park (near Delhi, India) almost 25 years ago. I remember the day very well. It was a cold winter (February) morning and there was a smoky mist in the air. We rode elephants to explore the park and spent a magical morning loping along listening, watching and hoping for a glimpse of the largest of the world’s ‘Big Cats’. Two elephants went out at dawn but only one of the elephants (or the people on one of the elephants) saw a Tiger that day… and I was not one of the lucky ones.

I tried again about ten years later, when my brother Gary and I joined our Nepalese friend, Pema Nima Sherpa, for a trip to Royal Chitwan National Park in the Kingdom of Nepal… but again, luck was not on our side and we left still not having seen a Tiger.

Tigers are found in about a dozen Asian countries, with approximately half of the world population in India. This is in part due to the efforts of Project Tiger, a government program launched in 1973. Project Tiger created Tiger reserves across the country (there are now 27 in India) and put in place habitat restoration projects which have resulted in increased Tiger numbers. Yet threats including habitat fragmentation, human-tiger conflict and poaching of both Tigers and their prey, continue to put pressure on Tiger populations throughout Asia.

My original Tiger searching plan was to hop a train from Jaipur to Sawai Madhopur (the jumping off point for safaris in Ranthambhore National Park) but due to some Indian influence (and an opportunity that presented itself) I ended up delaying my journey and taking the time to give a presentation to students at the ARCH Academy of Design in Jaipur and at the end of the day joined Dr. Mahendra Singh Kachhawa for a late evening (and at times harrowing) drive from Jaipur to Sawai Madhopur. It is amazing how connections work (particularly in India) and after arriving in Sawai Madhopur I soon found myself with Dr. Kachhawa and an upper level National Park Ranger, heading out at 11:30 pm for a night safari on the border of Ranthambhore!

Dr. Mahendra Singh Kachhawa, a highly regarded Indian lawyer, is well known in India as a wildlife expert but more so as a Special Public Prosecutor who has dedicated his life to wildlife conservation. As he explained to me, one of the key challenges wildlife faces in India is illegal harvesting and although poachers are sometimes caught, the real challenge is making the charges stick in court. Dr. Kachhawa has been successful in putting high profile poachers (including a famous Indian Bollywood Actor) behind bars for illegally hunting Indian wildlife.

I remember being in China and Macau just fifteen years ago and at that time if you visited any of dozens of apothecaries you could easily find products made from wildlife parts including boxes of tea made from the gall bladders of Asiatic Black Bears and also Tiger bone plasters (Band-Aids). The body of a Tiger is worth thousands of dollars on the black market – the fur, claws, bones – all are sold and used.

It was full moon when we set out … and I have to say it was an absolutely surreal experience. I was excited both at the prospect of seeing a Tiger for the first time and because I was doing something I had never even dreamed of… exploring a Tiger Reserve by moonlight with two outstanding Tiger experts.

Ranthambhore was originally established as the Sawai Madhopur Game Sanctuary in 1955 by the Government of India, and was then declared one of the Project Tiger reserves in 1973. Ranthambhore became a national park in 1980 (the year I graduated from high school!).

We stopped for our evening meal (at midnight) which was basically a home cooked Indian feast. I love Indian food (although my stomach does not seem to like it quite as much as it used to) and to dine under moonlight with the sounds of India and the wildlife of Ranthambhore around me … is impossible to adequately describe in words.

We bounced our way up hills (some incredibly steep) and back down the other side and caught deer and Nilgai in our headlights but not a Tiger in sight. Unfortunately our Gypsy (aka Jeep) had one minor fault – likely due to old age I would imagine – in that the horn would randomly start honking (or perhaps it was just the habit of the driver to beep every now and then)! We ended our night safari at about 2:30am and Dr. Kachhawa headed back to Jaipur while I found my hotel and an inviting bed in the town.

I slept in the next morning but booked myself for an afternoon safari coordinated by my hotel – the Tiger Safari Lodge.

My Tiger viewing experience in Ranthambhore was very different from the Lion viewing in Sasan Gir National Park. The number of visitors is way higher in Ranthambhore (in part due to its ease of access from the larger centres of Jaipur and Agra) and from the looks of it, the whole process is a bit of a nightmare to manage. It all seems to work though – sort of. It is obvious Tiger viewing is big business … the hotels, restaurants, travel operators, the National Park, everyone is getting a piece of the pie.

Ranthambhore National Park is divided up into zones – and the 5 zones are the focus of twice daily Tiger safaris. I did 3 safaris in total over the three days I was in Ranthambhore and visited zones 2, 4 and 5.

In Sasan Gir National Park tourists also visit the park by zone but there are far fewer vehicles and all safaris are done in the smaller Gypsys (jeeps) which take but six passengers. There are no canters (the 15 passenger vehicles buzzing everywhere in Ranthambhore) in Sasan Gir. I tried to book a Gypsy (you can move through the park more freely) but I was visiting Ranthambhore on the Easter long weekend so I was relegated to the cheap seats. Luckily though the Tiger Safari Lodge where I was staying was early in the hotel pick up route so I typically had a choice of seats in the canter.
Ranthambhore Tiger viewing is also different from Lion viewing in Sasan Gir in that in Ranthambhore the drivers and guide don’t dilly dally to see deer and birds at the start … they simply go to the areas that the Tigers are known to be … or where they hope they will be. The ‘other’ wildlife viewing can be done on the way back!

I did my first safari in the afternoon on my first full day in the park. It was HOT and I was in a canter with 15 other Tiger viewing hopefuls but to be honest I felt there was little chance of seeing anything. So I just accepted the fact and focused on enjoying the birds, deer and other wildlife. Tiger or no Tiger it was still amazing!

We bounced along at fairly high speed and after some twists and turns and up-hills and down-hills we ended up stopping where about 5 or 6 other safari vehicles were parked. Then we waited. I was thinking to myself that this was an odd way to search for wildlife and in fact thought it was futile. But to my great surprise … there came some excited chatter amongst the guides and then a yell, ‘Tiger’! And then the chaos hit… vehicles started their engines … all of them wanting to put their clients in the best position to view the Tiger. Canters and Gypsys were moving to and fro, drivers trying to better their rivals (not much different than on the streets of Bombay I figure).

We were in the zone of Machli, one of India’s most famous Tigresses. And, there she was! It was like being in a stock car race… everyone jockeying for position … and I have to tip my hat to our driver, as he anticipated her movements and just minutes later, she pawed her way past a Gypsy and started walking, ever so gracefully, directly toward me. I didn’t know whether to watch, click my SLR or try and get video. I tried all three and as luck would have it, I messed up the video (turned the camera off rather than on) but was sure to snap some still images as best I could. She walked within about 5 metres of me and as she was about to pass she turned her head and looked me straight in the eye. It was one of those once in a lifetime magical moments … and one that I will never forget.

What is the future for the Tigers of Ranthambhore, the Tigers of India and the Tigers of Asia in general? Their future is not rosy I hate to admit. There are approximately one million times more people in India than there are Tigers (1.2 billion people and 1200 or so Tigers). It is people that cause habitat fragmentation. It is people who poach wildlife – both Tigers and their prey. It is people who will decide the future of the Tiger, and to be honest, I am not optimistic.