[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by karan1609

I am curious to know as to what is the white palatial thing in the background (way to Jungle resort signboard pic on the sand/mud)?

That is the Nahargarh Hotel. More info here: Nahargarh Ranthambhore , Heritage Hotel Accommodation Ranthmbhore,Sawai Madhopur

[vinya_jag]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

2 January 2012

Morning :

Time for Safari #2 into Sariska. High expectations that we would spot a big cat, but with every intention of enjoying the drive through the forest in any case. We saw pug marks in plenty, but no sign of the owner. A series of pics from the safari...

Are there tigers at all in Sariska?
Yesterday, watched a documentary on BBC entertainment. They said that all tigers in the Sariska reserve were gone.

"Wiki"
In 2004, there were strong and persistent reports that no tigers were being sighted in Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan. It was not only that tigers were not being seen but also and more alarmingly, there were no indirect evidence of tiger’s presence (such as pugmarks, scratch marks on trees etc.) being found. The Rajasthan Forest Department took the stand that "the tigers had temporarily migrated outside the reserve and would be back after the rains". The Project Tiger, now National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), backed this assumption. There were some 15 tigers in the last years before. In January 2005, journalist Jay Mazoomdaar broke the news [4] that there were no tigers left in Sariska. Soon the Rajasthan Forest Department and the Project Tiger Directorate declared an "emergency tiger census" in Sariska and the Central Bureau of Investigation, India's premier intelligence agency, conducted a probe. After a two month exercise they finally declared that Sariska indeed did not have any tigers left. Poaching was blamed to be one of the major reasons for the disappearance of tiger

I was really shocked to see this documentary. It also said that two other reserves Panna and Ranthambore also were going the same way as Sariska. That was 2004.
I wonder if any tigers are left in the wild in Rajastan. Are the tiger reserves making money out from nothing?

But, yes, enjoyed your travelogue a lot. Spotting so many birds. You should be getting an SLR with a 500mm lens I guess

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by vinya_jag

Are there tigers at all in Sariska?

Wiki & BBC need not be considered the Gospel truth when we have gd1418 to provide first-hand feedback to answer your query...

Originally Posted by gd1418

...the Star Male Tiger of Sariska - the biggest, meanest, elusive & temperamental ST 6; hitherto only fleetingly seen by some villagers & forest guards but never by any tourist. Also never photographed in the wild in Sariska.

This 5+ year old magnificient male tipped the scales at 220+ Kgs and from nose-tip to tail measured 11 feet. He was formerly the T 7 from Ranthambhore who was relocated here on 23rd February, 2011 after loosing a territorial fight and rechristened ST 6.

[gd1418]

Vinay, it appears that either you are totally out of sync or rather out of touch with the current situation. What BBC & Wiki said was true then but not now and they have not bothered to update themselves. BBC is showing an old documentary that has no relevance now.

Sariska, at one time boasted of 34 tigers in the wild. Due to Government apathy, collusion with the forest officials they were slowly poached by Sansar Chand who now is behind the bars serving a life sentence.

It was at the initiative of Dr. Manmohan Singh & Vasundhara Raje that a decision was taken to relocate Tigers from the already overflowing Ranthambhore sanctuary and first such relocation was done in 2008 when a male Tiger (ST 1 {formerly Dara of Ranthambhore} - later poisoned by villagers) was introduced.

Currently Sariska has 5 Tigers namely - ST 2, ST 3, ST 4 (male), ST 5 & ST 6 (male).

I suggest you to read my travelogue

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...-quenched.html

to know more about Sariska and its flora & fauna.

Yes, Panna too suffered the same fate and was devoid of any Tigers for some time. But recently a couple of years back the Big Cat was introduced there from Kanha and last year Tiger cubs were spotted in a camera trap. Ranthambhore was never headed that way due to a very high density of the Cat in that forest.

Originally Posted by vinya_jag

Are there tigers at all in Sariska?

Yesterday, watched a documentary on BBC entertainment. They said that all tigers in the Sariska reserve were gone.

"Wiki"

In 2004, there were strong and persistent reports that no tigers were being sighted in Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan. It was not only that tigers were not being seen but also and more alarmingly, there were no indirect evidence of tiger’s presence (such as pugmarks, scratch marks on trees etc.) being found. The Rajasthan Forest Department took the stand that "the tigers had temporarily migrated outside the reserve and would be back after the rains". The Project Tiger, now National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), backed this assumption. There were some 15 tigers in the last years before. In January 2005, journalist Jay Mazoomdaar broke the news [4] that there were no tigers left in Sariska. Soon the Rajasthan Forest Department and the Project Tiger Directorate declared an "emergency tiger census" in Sariska and the Central Bureau of Investigation, India's premier intelligence agency, conducted a probe. After a two month exercise they finally declared that Sariska indeed did not have any tigers left. Poaching was blamed to be one of the major reasons for the disappearance of tiger

I was really shocked to see this documentary. It also said that two other reserves Panna and Ranthambore also were going the same way as Sariska. That was 2004.

I wonder if any tigers are left in the wild in Rajastan. Are the tiger reserves making money out from nothing?

But, yes, enjoyed your travelogue a lot. Spotting so many birds. You should be getting an SLR with a 500mm lens I guess

[vinya_jag]

@gd1418
Great to see the tigress
Yes, I am glad to see them.
The documentary was really disturbing. Nice to see them back.

Will surely visit Ranthambore and Sariska. We have Jaipur plans for this year end.

[anupam00]

Hey SS,

I stayed in the next door resort- one whose swimming pool photo's you referred- Ankur Resort,

I went in Jan 2012,

Nice travel log,

Keep it up,

Thanks & Regards
Anupam

[earthian]

@SS-Traveller
Nice TR and a pity about the stay experience. However, i believe that these unscrupulous elements are now understanding that visitors are now sharing good and bad experiences in forums and that ultimately bad service and policies would affect their business.We shall avoid any business run by this gentleman(?) Guddu, live a plague!

Too bad you could not sight a tiger, but experiencing the forest in all its elements is the main thing. Once you get hooked, you are hooked for life. Like me!

[deky]

Originally Posted by earthian

@SS-Traveller
Nice TR and a pity about the stay experience. However, i believe that these unscrupulous elements are now understanding that visitors are now sharing good and bad experiences in forums and that ultimately bad service and policies would affect their business.We shall avoid any business run by this gentleman(?) Guddu, live a plague!

I know Guddu Bhai as I have used his services more than a few times, (not the hotel where Doc SS stayed but the other resort i.e Jungle View) He is a nice gentleman, very service oriented and tries to help wherever he can. He is definitely not "unscrupulous"