Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve is home to 51 Bengal tigers.  Seeing one, however, is a matter of luck.  As one guide said, “Unless there is a warning call by the spotted deer or langur monkeys, it’s like finding a needle in a haystack.”

We had attended the naturalist’s presentation at our hotel so we knew a few facts about tigers (solitary creatures with a specific territory) and the park (established in the 70s and broken down into six zones).  We were also cautioned that it might take three or four outings to see a tiger.

We had scheduled three drives: day one morning and afternoon and day three morning only.

On day one, we left for our morning drive with foggy conditions and temperatures in the low 40s. To ward off the cold, the hotel gave us blankets and water bottles. (The girls and I are loving the whole water bottle thing. They put them in your bed at turndown service as well. So happy.)

We were assigned Zone 3 and had a family of three from Auckland, NZ with us in our jeep. In the first 15 minutes we saw a leopard perched on a mountain ledge. An auspicious start! Then we spent the next 2+ hours driving in search of tigers. We saw tiger food but no tiger. Tiger food means wild boar, spotted deer, samba deer, gazelle, blue bull antelope, langurs, peahens and peacocks. There were several species of bird as well (kingfisher, shrike, rufus tree pi, minuet, etc). But no tiger.

On our afternoon drive, we were assigned Zone 4 and had the jeep to ourselves after a frustrated tourist decided to forego the afternoon drive. Our friends from Auckland were in a separate jeep but assigned Zone 4 as well. We crossed fingers and wished each other luck.

The sun was strong with milder weather and our guide suggested that this might get the tigers out into open sun areas. About half way into the drive, the guides heard a warning call so the jeeps turned to explore that the side of the mountain. Then the park ranger jeep came into view and the ranger excitedly waved us forward. We were the third jeep on scene, behind our friends from Auckland.

We saw Krishna, or T-19, from a safe distance of 15m (or 15 yards). She was getting a little sun and looked uninterested in the jeeps that continued to arrive. We snapped away like paparazzi on Nigella. OK, that’s hyperbole. All of the tourists, domestic tourists in equal numbers to those of us from the US, Australia and New Zealand, showed great respect for the tiger and for each other. We all left with a warm camaraderie and more than a few photos…and a video!

 (Getting Ready!)

(Leopard)

 (Male Spotted Deer)

 (Male Blue Bull)

 (Gazelle)

 (Male Samba Deer)

 (Langur)

 (Female Samba Deer)

 (Peacock)

 (Kingfisher)

Krishna (T-19)

For those wondering about Day 2 and drive three…
Day 2 we toured the local village shops and saw cooperatives of women doing embroidering or appliqué, men and women operating looms, small silversmith shops, and the chili and spice markets.

Our final drive was colder than the first and no tiger spotting or warning calls. Lots of deer, langurs, and pea fowl. But we were greeted on our return to the hotel with Lakshmi and Mala, the resident elephants, and that was enough for me.