October to November 2004

On the 1st of October 2004 the park reopened for tourists – the beginning of a new tourist season for Ranthambore national park. I remember the safari on the 1st morning. The park was lush green (it is like that only in the month of October) and all the waterholes were overflowing. I found a…

Monsoons 2004 – July to September

Ranthambhore National Park, like all project Tiger Reserves in India, shuts down for visitors during the monsoons. Since Ranthambhore lies in Rajasthan – the driest Indian state – it only shuts down for three months of monsoons, from July to September. This is the most dangerous time for the big predators. Due to the monsoon…

Tiger Watch

Tiger Watch is an NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) based in Ranthambhore that is headed by Mr. Fateh Singh Rathore. If there is one person who should get the credit for setting up this park, it is this man in the picture below. He came to Ranthambhore in 1960 when it was still the private hunting ground…

The Mogiya Tribals

Mogiya is a tribe whose members have been hunters since a long time. They mainly inhabit the tracts from Sheopur district of the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh to the Gwalior district of the same state. This is a long tract of forested area along the banks of the river Chambal – the “bandit”…

The beginning – 2003

About three years ago (when G.V. Reddy left from here after serving as a Field Director) there were around 40 tigers, if not a few more. Reddy’s departure got the poachers active again. Most of the big game poaching here is done by three group of tribal – the Mogiya’s, Bagariya’s and Kanjar’s. Out of…

Build up to the Disaster of 2003 – 05

In the early 2003 Mr. G.V.Reddy left for higher studies to Mysore. At that time, all of us in Ranthambhore were firm in our opinion that there were over 40 tigers (including cubs) in the park. Towards the end of his tenure here, Reddy was promoted as the Field Director of the park. He was…