The Indian Express | 1 week ago | 18-03-2023 | 11:45 am
When a friend and I decided to visit the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve one February weekend, little did we know what a chase it would be to spot a tiger! Neither of us had been there before. Reaching Ranthambore was easy – only three-and-a-half hours by fast train from Delhi. Booking a hotel for a long weekend, even a month in advance, was another matter. Most hotels were full, be they in the Rs. 5000 or the Rs. 25,000 per night price range. This included the Shergarh Resort – said to be frequented by the Gandhis and Scindias. Then, by sheer chance, we found rooms in Tiger Den – a beautifully-located resort with very helpful staff.Booking a tiger safari was our next challenge. Safaris go twice a day – early morning and afternoon. You can either book a jeep which seats six or a place in a 20-seater Canter. We figured that with one morning and one afternoon safari we would definitely see a tiger. The Canter was easy to get, but the jeep safaris were fully booked. However, as with many things in India, there are unadvertised options. You can get a ‘tatkal’ jeep (like tatkal train tickets), albeit at a steep price. We learnt later that the price is fixed, but someone is clearly making extra bucks from uninformed visitors. We booked a tatkal jeep for an afternoon safari (Zone 3) and a morning Canter (Zone 6).The 515 sq mile park is divided into 10 zones and each safari is assigned one zone to avoid overcrowding any zone. So, while tigers can move between zones, safaris cannot. And therein lies the catch. You can spend an entire safari chasing a tiger that was spotted that very morning in your zone but has moved to another zone by the time you arrive. Sitting in our jeep in Zone 3 on day 1, we waited for over an hour on one side of a lake, while in Zone 4, on the other side of that lake, we could see a cluster of stationary vehicles – a clear sign that they had found a tiger. We waited, and waited, and finally it was time to go back.Next morning, still optimistic, we boarded our Canter at 6:30 am and headed for Zone 6. The 70 plus tigers mark their territories and each zone includes the territory of at least some tigers. Hence, there is always a chance of spotting one, whatever your zone. But, alas, this time too we returned without seeing one.My friend, exhausted from two bone-shaking safari rides, decided to call it a day. I was more resilient and happily took the front seat on a Canter that became available at the last minute, for my third safari – this time in Zone 4. Would I be third-time lucky?Before I reveal all, let me say that whether or not you see a tiger, the Ranthambore National Park offers many attractions, including numerous animals besides the tiger. We spotted a bear – the first I had seen outside a zoo – happily picking termites from the termite hills dotting the park (not having Mowgli to bring him honey combs, as related in the Jungle Book!). We saw families of Sambhar deer, whose heavy build and large size makes them an attractive prey for a hungry tiger. There were herds of spotted deer (Chital) and, in one instance, two males had a full-fledged fight in front of us, locking their antlers and going for it! We glimpsed a leopard; saw crocodiles sunning themselves; and many langurs. Contrasting with the black-and-brown camouflage colours of these animals were some stunning dancing peacocks.The dry deciduous forest of the National Park, with its varied flora, is itself a treasure and worth a visit. Each zone is special, but Zone 3, with its three lakes, bio-diversity, and ancient banyans is especially beautiful. Even within a zone the landscape can change as you travel past terrain dotted with broad-leafed peepals and palas to stretches of leafless dhoks.But let’s return to the tiger. All the tigers have a number, while some famous ones also have names. The most renowned is Machli who died of old age in 2016. Her genes are carried by the largest number of tigers in Ranthambore. When you enter a zone, the tiger’s presence is discerned either by a fresh pugmark, or through a warning ‘call’ given by animals that sense danger. But a third way lies in choosing a zone based on probabilities. If a zone has a mating pair or a tigress with cubs, the chances of spotting them rises, since they are less likely to wander afar. Word about sightings spreads quickly and there is a buzz from the moment you arrive in your hotel. But often it is too late to find a safari for the zone that has had the highest recent sightings, since others have figured that out too!Some visitors leave little to chance. In our hotel, a family from Chennai had booked six jeep safaris, greatly increasing their likelihood of seeing a tiger. A member of this family, Shobha (an enthusiastic watcher), said they had seen tigers in all three of their safaris so far, and were heading for a fourth.Some others, like Kavita and myself, added side trips. We spent one morning in the impressive 10th century Ranthambore Fort, gazing over its ramparts, visiting its temples, and hearing an embellished version of history from our guide. He had received ‘training’, and in his version of the Fort’s history and its many battles, the Hindu kings always won, notwithstanding historical evidence to the contrary!We also visited a crafts cooperative with in-house artisans doing block prints, painters specialising in tiger paintings, and women making patchwork quilts. I too tried my hand at block-printing to create a neat muslin handkerchief with a tiger at the centre surrounded by pugmarks!Now to return to my third safari ― did I eventually see a tiger? Friends, I did, within 10 minutes of entering Zone 4. We spotted T-120 (also called Ganesh) at some distance, but my excellent pair of binoculars brought him up close. I saw him in all his golden glory as he lay napping, partly submerged in the cool water. Eventually he woke up, yawned, and sauntered off.Spotting that tiger crowned my visit. But even without it, the trip was worth it. As Kavita, who did not take the third safari, said: ‘True, I did not see a tiger in the Park, but I am sure a tiger saw me! So, next time perhaps?’The writer is professor of Development Economics and Environment, University of Manchester, and author of Gender and Green Governance.
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