RANTHAMBHORE :: TIGERS
History
During the first few decades of the 20th century all of Aravalis and the Vindhyas were thickly forested and were teeming with wildlife, including tigers. By the end of 1960s, as a result of sustained logging, prime forests were left in only a few isolated patches. Since, till the late 1950s, Ranthambhore and Kela Devi were the private hunting grounds of the royalty of Jaipur and Karauli, respectively, they got a level of protection that the other forests of this belt did not. Due to this protection tigers survived in forests around Ranthambhore and Kela Devi, till the launch of the Project Tiger.
In 1973, when the when the Project Tiger was launched, Ranthambhore was one of the original 9 reserves to be taken under the Project. By then tigers were on the brink of extinction in and around Ranthambhore. Mr. Fateh Singh Rathore, who was in-charge of Ranthambore when the Project Tiger was launched, is on record stating that, "three years elapsed since the launch of the project, when the first tiger was sighted in Ranthambore".
At that time there were 16 villages inside the sanctuary (what is now the national park) but between 1976 and 1979, 12 of these villages were shifted outside the sanctuary. In 1980, in order to give greater protection to the forests, an area of 282.03 sq. k.m. of the inner part of Sawai Madhopur sanctuary was declared as National Park. Since then the state Government stopped collection of any forest produce from sanctuary and National Parks. In the year 1983, 647 square k.m. of forests lying to the North of the National park were declared as the Kela Devi Sanctuary and included in the Tiger Project. Similarly, in 1984, 130 square k.m. of forests lying to the South of the Ranthambore national park were declared as Sawai Mansingh Sanctuary and included in Ranthambhore Tiger Project.
In the 1970s, tiger sightings were few and far in between. It was almost impossible to estimate the number of tigers that were there in the Project tiger reserve. By the middle of 1980s, after more than a decade of protection, Ranthambhore's shy, elusive and nocturnal tigers, gradually changed their behavior and became more and more diurnal and visible. By the end of 1980s, Ranthambore had become probably the best place to see wild tigers in the world. The beginning of 1990s was a bad time for reserve's tigers. 1990 and 1991 saw a dramatic decrease in the number of tiger sightings in the national park, compared to a few years ago but there was nothing to indicate that this had taken place due to poaching. To quote from the State empowered committee of Rajasthan - "In 1992 a poacher was caught in Ranthambhore and it was realized, in subsequent census, that the population of tigers had fallen by half."
Since then policing inside and outside the tiger reserve was intensified but it took almost a decade for the tiger population to rise to figure of over 40. In 2003 and 2004, disaster struck Ranthambhore's tigers once again. A census conducted by a high powered committee showed that there were only 26 tigers in Ranthambhore tiger reserve and all of them were with in the Ranthambhore national park. The other areas of the reserve were totally devoid of tigers. To quote from the report of the Tiger task force, set up by the Prime Minister of India - "in Ranthambhore, which is now known to have lost a large number of its tigers......the threat of poaching remains...".
In 2005, the Rajasthan and the Indian government set up high powered committees to look into the state of Ranthambhore and to suggest measures to improve the situation. This put the spotlight back on Ranthambore and the tiger crisis in India and since then the forest and the police department intensified the protection around the the tiger reserve. Since then there have been no reports of poaching from around Ranthambore and a large number of tiger cubs were born between the summer of 2005 and the summer of 2006.
Sightings
Ranthambhore is a dry-deciduous forest, which means that there is little undergrowth and most of the trees shed their leave in the dry season. Out of all the tiger reserves in India, Ranthambhore gets the least amount of rainfall and as a result there are very few patches with tall grasses. Besides, this Project Tiger reserve has an excellent network of forest tracks (that are motorable in the dry season).
All the above mentioned factors contribute to some great wildlife viewing, during safaris. Since there is little undergrowth and very few patches with tall and thick cover of grasses, the visibility is fantastic. The excellent network of forest tracks allows for much better tracking of animals from vehicles. Besides, most of the safari tracks in Ranthambhore, are actually heavily used animal tracks that have been widened to enable safari vehicles to drive on them. As a result, a lot of mega-fauna can be seen on or very near the forest tracks.
This is particularly true for tigers. Tigers have very soft pads under their feet, which enables them to move silently - a very important adaptation for hunting. Due to this they prefer to walk on the safari tracks, which have soft sand covering, very little thorns, rocks and dried leave. Not only is it more comfortable for them when they are walking on the tracks but the soft sand and the relative absence of twigs and leaves enables them to walk silently, without alerting their prey.
Sighting tigers in the wild is totally a matter of chance but these chances can be improved considerably. Before going in for the safari it is important to have some knowledge of movement of tigers in the park in the last few days. Almost all the local guides and drivers (who are excellent in finding tigers) have this information. They mostly get this information from their own observations in the last few days and from the observation of other guides and drivers. Once you know the movement patterns of tigers in the last few days then it is possible to predict the areas where the chances of finding tigers are better. For instance, if you know that a particular tiger has got a Sambar deer kill in a particular place, then the chances are that the tiger would be in the same area for the next 2 to 3 days.
Another sign that is worth looking out for are pugmarks of tigers. Tigers leave behind footprints or pugmarks when they walk on soft soil. In the dry and soft soil of Ranthambore these are relatively easier to find. A good tracker can roughly estimate how long ago these tracks were made. If the tracks appear to be recent or "fresh" the it is definitely worth while to follow them till where you can. Pugmarks are definitely the most important signs that show the presence of one or more tiger.
When predators like tigers move, some of the prey species of the predators, give out loud calls of alarms or "alarm calls" to warn of the other prey animals in the vicinity. The calls of Sambar deer, Spotted deer, Nilgai and Langur monkeys are the loudest and most often heard. Loud and repeated calls in an area indicate to the presence of a predator in the area. It is a good idea to stop periodically, switch off the engine and wait for a few minutes to listen to alarm calls. The prey species do not always give alarm calls when they sight a predator, so the absence of alarm calls does not mean that there are no predators near by. But it does indicate that the chances of a predator being close by are low.
So when you go your tiger safari, look out for pugmarks and keep your ears open for alarm calls. This would tremendously improve your chances of finding tigers. However, you must always keep in mind that finding tigers in the wild is still a matter of chance and that there are no guarantees of finding one.
Tiger Photography
Ranthambhore is one of the best places in the world to photograph tigers in their wild, natural habitat. Some of the best wild tiger photos in the world have been taken in Ranthambore. There are a number of reasons for this and the most important ones are:
1. It is relatively easy to find tigers in a wildlife safari in Ranthambhore national park, thanks to the dry nature of the reserve. On an average a photographers should be able to get at least a few good tiger photography opportunities in a 3-4 days. When I say good opportunities, I mean great sightings in good light for at least 15 minutes and a good photographer can get a lot done in that time.
2. All the wildlife pictures in Ranthambhore are taken from jeeps (or Canter "safari bus"). This means that one is taking wildlife pictures from a much lower angle and the end results are eye level photos, that are much more impressive. In most of the other Project Tiger reserves, the only tiger photo opportunities that one would get are from the top of an elephant, which is not only a poor angle but also a very unstable platform to shoot wildlife from.
3. Ranthambhore has some very interesting backgrounds to offer. The forest here changes it colors in every season. It varies from lush green in October, to yellows and reds in winters (from the end of November to February), to yellows and browns in the summers (March to June). The ancient ruins that are found all over the park add to this environment.
4. Ranthambore also has a lot to offer wildlife photographers, besides tigers. It is the best place in the world to take pictures of Sambar deer. One can get excellent pictures of ungulates, birds (particularly the ones that prefer drier habitats), landscapes, old monuments in the jungle etc. So when you can not find an obliging tiger to take pictures of, one can still get a lot of other very interesting subjects to shoot.
There are some downside of wildlife photography in Ranthambore too and the main ones are:
1. It is difficult to book jeeps in Ranthambhore. Only a limited number of jeeps are permitted to go inside the park and since there is a huge demand for them, they get booked well in advance. The Canter "safari bus" are not so good for photography. Not only do they offer a much higher angle than jeeps, there are other people in the Canter too and they may all be moving at the same time.
2. When you book a jeep in for safari, you are allotted a route and you have to stay on the allotted route during your jeep safari. This can be painful for photographers because it is important for them to get the right routes.
3. You could get stuck with the wrong team of drivers and guides. There are a few (only a handful - I would say) excellent guides and drivers in Ranthambhore, who understand the light, angles etc. and can predict action with some degree of reliability. You could end up having a pretty lousy trip if you are not with one of them.
You can easily come over these drawbacks by keeping a few things in mind. Remember to book your trip well in advance. I would recommend booking at least 60-70 days in advance. If you do that you will end with with confirmed jeeps with good routes and look around for a good team.
Some tips for wildlife photography in Ranthambore:
1. Equipment: I would recommend carrying at least three lenses - one wide (I use a Canon 24 - 105 mm f 4.0), one tele (I use a Sigma120 - 300 f 2.8). A super telephoto (500 or 600 mm) would be mind blowing and I use a Sigma 500 f 4.5. I would also recommend carrying at least two camera bodies (I have two EOS 40 D and one EOS 1 D Mark II) and carrying a dust proof bag to keep all this stuff in. Dust is a big problem here, so always carry all the things required to clean your gear.
2. Film: If you are still shooting film (or slides), carry 100 and 400 ISO films. I know that the Fuji Velvia 50 is great but you need to be a very brave person to shoot wildlife in India with a 50 ISO film. If you are shooting on digital carry all the cards, hard drives etc that you think you would need because you can not get any of those here. In our place you can download you images on our computer and back them up on CDs / DVDs but you can not do it everywhere.
3. Support: Tripods are great (long live Gitzo) but they do not work on jeeps and canters unless you slightly modify the vehicle (if you are planning to stay here for a long time you could do that). However, I would still advise you to carry the tripod. Beanbags, on the other hand, are great in the vehicles. They are easy to carry and can be set up almost anywhere inside a jeep or a canter. Best of all, you can buy them here for a very low price. I have a tripod and a monopod but have shot most of my stuff inside the park on beanbags.
4. Light: The terrain in Ranthambore national park is hilly and so the lighting is totally different at different times of the day. The best lighting (the soft winter light) is between November and February, though this is not the best time to find tigers. April, May and June are the best time to find tigers but the summer light of these months can be pretty harsh. During all the months the light is nice and soft in the early mornings and in the late evenings.
5. Time duration: If you want to get some serious wildlife pictures, I would recommend coming here for at least 4-5 days (more if you are planning to come here in the winters). If you are planning to spend less than that then plan on getting lucky.