Catch a Tiger by the Toe
Trip Start
May 22, 2005
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85
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Trip End
Jan 22, 2006
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Ranthambore,
India
Saturday, November 26, 2005
We boarded a large open top and open side jeep. Naively, we chose to sit in the front row. Since the jeep did not have a windshield, we became the windshield for the rest of the truck. We had to use our shirts to cover our mouths and noses so that we would not inhale all the dust and bugs that smashed into our faces at 50 kilometres an hour. At the end of the safari, our faces resembled those of hard working coal miners.
The first stop on our safari was at the ranger station. There you are randomly given a fixed route which you must follow through the park. Throughout the route there are stations which you must check in with at predetermined times to ensure that: (a) you are still alive, and (b) you havenīt gone on an actual tiger hunt. The rangers come looking if you fail to check-in. Before we set off our guide explained to us that there were only 23 tigers in the entire park (six males and 17 females), so actually seeing a tiger is very rare. He assured us that we would see a multitude of other animals.
Our jeep rumbled into the park and we had our first sightings.
Ranthambhore National Park
We saw herds of sambar deer, packs of wild screeching monkeys, massive blue bulls, families of wild boars and a multitude of birds. High in a tree we even saw a pair of white spotted owls. Mel gushed at their "cuteness".We fully expected not to see any tigers. However, all of a sudden our guide got very excited. He had spotted some fresh tiger tracks. The chase was on. Our jeep shot forward on the big catīs trail. We had to dodge low hanging tree branches as our driver raced forward. Everyoneīs demeanor on the jeep became focused and serious-we wanted our prize. We came to a halt next to another jeep, whose guide told us that they had seen the tiger and that it had lumbered off the track a few hundred metres back. Our guide made the decision to take a risk to go off track and we hurriedly spun around, retraced our steps, and turned off the track.
In a clearing, we saw in full view a massive male tiger on the prowl several metres in front of our jeep. Being the windshield had paid off. We all fell deathly silent and began to snap our pictures. The tiger--letīs call him Tony--lingered in the open and took the time to sniff a tree and stretch out. We were in awe. The tiger passed out of sight and our guide beamed with pride and excitement. He explained to us that such a clear look at one of the six male tigers in the park was indeed a rare occurrence. On our return trip we did spot another tiger--letīs call her Ms. Stacey--but this time the tiger was hidden in the foliage and we could only barely make out the stripes.
Video of Our First Wild Tiger Sighting
We arrived back at our hotel very satisfied and very dirty.We were given the option of waking up at 6:30 am the next morning for one last chance to see another tiger. Mel usually only wakes up that early for fires--i.e. if the bed is on fire. However, with the excitement of our first safari fresh in our minds, we were the first to sign up. We woke up at dusk and rode to the park in the silence of early morning. As safari "veterans" we were sadly unimpressed by the other animals that abundantly filled the park. The blue bulls could have been raccoons for all we cared--we only wanted tiger!
This time our guide had drawn a different route that took us close to the large lake in the middle of the park. This was a favourite hunting ground for the tigers so we approached in anticipation. We were disappointed. The excitement peaked again as we spotted screeching monkeys in the trees above us. Monkeys act as the alarm system of the jungle and they will screech and point to any tigers they spot hiding in the tall grass. Quickly a number of other jeeps converged on the screaming monkeys and we all strained to try and make out the hidden tiger in the grass. People were madly pointing at things that clearly were not the tiger, convinced that they could see it. This continued for some time until one of the guides spotted the tiger breaking for a nearby river bed. We raced to the river bed to catch a glimpse of the tail of the tiger before it slipped into the deeper foliage. Our second safari wasnīt as successful as our first, but we left Ramthambore content with our meeting with Tony.
