Ranthambore - Safaris that disappoint

Ranthambore probably has between 28 and 57 tigers, depending on who you talk to. The process of booking a safari is more organised with a fair and transparent online booking system. But in reality, for a solo traveller it isn't too clear where to go and how to go once you actually arrive at Ranthambore. I was lucky that my hotel owner, Aditya Resorts, spoke to the right people and for a reasonable fee I was picked up and dropped off at the hotel for the safaris I'd booked.

RANTHAMBORE. Day 1. Zone 2. Atop a canter, not the best situation to get pictures of any quality. But still a productive day. Saw T-60 feeding on a fresh sambhar kill. Her 11-month cub was nearby, but because of the distance and the poor light in the forest, couldn't get the cub's picture.

Zone 2 is reportedly the best part of the park for a good chance of spotting a tiger and it did prove so. As a bird lover, I was delighted to spot a serpent eagle by a stream, a kingfisher and a partridge. The obsession with the tiger means that the guide, the driver and fellow-safari guests rarely want to pause to capture or observe other fauna.

T-60 at her sambhar kill

T-60 feeding 

T-60, her cub (not in the picture) was nearby - disturbed by the noise from the safari gypsies and canters (at one stage 8 vehicles were watching her), gave up feeding and lay down in the grass. 

A sambhar

A serpent eagle

A female sambhar

 RANTHAMBORE. Day Two. Zones 2 and 6. Just a wisp of a tiger in the morning, difficult to capture on the camera. However, a productive day overall with some good pictures of other fauna this huge wildlife sanctuary has to offer.

The morning safari experience was marred by a very mercantilist guide and driver who were more bent on extracting hefty tips rather than any genuine interest in wildlife or the safari guests. They assume their tips depend on tiger spottings and hung around for two hours at the same sambhar kill I had viewed the previous afternoon and then rushed through opportunities to view other fauna.

The afternoon safari in Zone 6 was better with fellow safari guests interested in avian life as well. The guide was very helpful and stopped for us to take pictures of scops owls, mongoose, deer, some magnificent male sambhar stags and blue buck.

A jungle path

A black stork

A pair of scops owls

A blue buck(nilgai)

A male sambhar

Jousting young male stags(sambhar)

A female blue buck

Female blue buck

A cheetal fawn(spotted deer)

I was disappointed with the extensive human interference and activities inside the park. Little of it can boast of being pristine. There are temples, regular visitors, road building, encroachments by hotels and resorts, entry of cows and villagers collecting firewood. It's a miracle how the tiger continues to survive despite such adverse circumstances and habitat destruction. The prey base appears robust on the surface with plenty of deer, sambhar and blue buck.