Tigers of Ranthambore & Western India Landscape

[Rage2277]

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kwildlife_photography- An experience with the current King of Ranthambhore. Late June visits to RNP mean even a couple of pre-monsoon rains have transformed the forest floor to a carpet of green and the predominant Dhok trees have sprouted leaves. And in my recent visits to RNP, the dominant males of the reserve have eluded me - one in particular, the illusive T-86, has been a tiger I have been itching to see in his majestic glory but with no luck until now. He is notoriously shy and covers a massive territory making the odds of seeing him even slimmer. To see him twice over 3 days in locations 7-8 kilometers apart confirms how large his territory is. He was as majestic as I had heard and his shyness was also obvious. In this instance, we chanced upon him at a higher elevation in Zone 3. As we turned the corner in a tree covered area we saw him sitting under the forest canopy close to the Jeep path. He gave us 8 minutes of glorious time alone - he had just walked out of a muddy waterhole on the side of the Jeep path- clearly visible here on his back side. He is a massive male tiger and the sire of Arrowhead’s current litter. His mane is almost lion like. When he stands he is taller than all of the other males I have seen at RNP including his father - Kumbha. Our encounter came to an end as soon as a few jeeps drove up behind us. T-86 didn’t like the commotion and initially walked 50 meters further into the forest. A few minutes later he stood up and disappeared into the forest. I thought this might be the best encounter I ever have with him but was I wrong as 2 days later he gave us 90 minutes at a considerable distance from this location. This story will be continued. Reply