FishTalesFilms News: Ranthambhore National Park

I’m about halfway through my visit at Ranthambhore National Park in Rajasthan India. I scheduled 8 safari drives in the Park to increase my chance of seeing a Tiger. Sightings are not guaranteed since the park is very large and only 20% is accessible. There are 58 Tigers in the reserve, but only about 20 in areas that you can get to. Even then, they are solitary and like to hide out of view. I didn’t see any on my first two drives, but I saw one yesterday afternoon and a mother with two nearly full grown cubs this morning. The one yesterday was pretty far away, about 70 meters, just barely in 500mm range. Today, they were closer, resting about 30 meters away, then VERY close as they came to get a drink at a stream a few feet from the truck. It was actually freaking our guide out a bit because I was sitting sideways with my feet over the side on a running board for stability. As they approach, you can hear the guide on the video saying urgently “feet in the vehicle Mr. Steven, quickly, feet in the vehicle”. As I look at the video now, it does seem like a very large out of focus tiger definitely is eying my Nikes:<) The cubs are about 95% the size of their mother, but still inexperienced in hunting for themselves. But soon, they will be off on their own.

The park has lots o other interesting wildlife too. The only trouble is getting the guides to stop for it. They seem to be on a Tiger mission all the time, which is a shame. There are two species of Deer, two species of Antelope, Langur Monkeys, Mongoose, Wild Boar, lots of Peacocks and other birds.

A Banyan tree at one of the park gates:
BanyanGate