[deky]

Originally Posted by mallumowgli

Amazing experience there Deky and an amazing trip we, readers, have had!! Thanks

Waiting for the rest impatiently

The rest coming up soon. I even have some videos that I shall post. Trust me, it only gets better!!

Originally Posted by Trojan

This is simply fabulous Deky, what an amazing experience and lovely snaps.

Those eyes are fierce and mean business, no doubt the term - Eye of the Tiger, that is something which is difficult to ignore!

Reading this TL just makes me want to shut down my laptop and run down there. You are indeed very lucky my friend.

Regards,

Yup, luck was indeed on our side that day. Was an awesome wild life experience

Originally Posted by iceman7

AWESOME!!! Super-duper shots. I maintain that The Tiger is the most magnificent animal in the jungle.

I was in Ranthambhore last week and managed to see a tigress in the Qualji region. I guess she's called Meera.

I am planning on going again in May, once the heat increases and the chances of spotting go up.

And thanks for the tiger family tree.

Without the intention of high-jacking your thread, I am posting a picture of Meera.

No hijacking here, would love to have you post more i.e. if you not planning your own thread.

Qualji has two Tigers, the male T-42. He loves to charge at tourists gypsy's and his equally notorious gf T-37. They both are known to have blocked vehicles on tracks by sitting on either side of the vehicles.

Originally Posted by manolin

same here. with the kind of heat that one should feel there, maybe tiger, deer and all of us will be jumping into the lake with some crocodiles.

Lol, love your fantasy!! But trust me, in the jungle its not that hot. Especially after sunset when the actual movement of the animals take place its rather cool in the jungle. I have spent a night within RTR forest during the last year census and yes the night was kinda cold. Yes it was cold.

[deky]

07/02/2013 - Afternoon safari...Contd

So once the mother sat down directly opposite us, the cubs started to come to her one by one. I got the opportunity to change back my camera lens to 70-300mm for some closer pics.

Cubs joining their mother


Cubs want to play but the mother shoo's them off


One cub has had enough of us so he sleeps


The fourth joins in


Happy family


Mother gets up and starts to walk


One cub joins her


Cubs are really thirsty, need a drink again


Ah well I just inverted the reflection :P


All the cubs in a frame


The mother sits and all cubs fall in line


Is'nt she majestic??


Mother and female cub (I think)


Once again a family portrait


With this T-30's family of 4, T-16 earlier in the evening safari and T-24 in the morning, now we had seen a total of 6 tigers in one day.

This was not the end though

To be contd.........

[iceman7]

Lovely pictures once again. I can only imagine how patient you would have had to be to get these shots!!

Originally Posted by deky

No hijacking here, would love to have you post more i.e. if you not planning your own thread.

Qualji has two Tigers, the male T-42. He loves to charge at tourists gypsy's and his equally notorious gf T-37. They both are known to have blocked vehicles on tracks by sitting on either side of the vehicles.

Yes. We were in a gypsy when we saw Meera and our guide and driver mentioned the same thing. Actually, when we saw Meera, we were a convoy of 6 cars and Meera was visibly pissed when she saw all the cars at once. Lucky for us, she chose to ignore all of us and went her own way.

Man, I want to be a TIGER in my next life.

[deky]

Originally Posted by iceman7

Lovely pictures once again. I can only imagine how patient you would have had to be to get these shots!!



Yes. We were in a gypsy when we saw Meera and our guide and driver mentioned the same thing. Actually, when we saw Meera, we were a convoy of 6 cars and Meera was visibly pissed when she saw all the cars at once. Lucky for us, she chose to ignore all of us and went her own way.

Man, I want to be a TIGER in my next life.

Infact it was the opposite, the tigers as you will see in the next post were following us, instead of us following them. It was the juvenile cubs who were in a playfull mood that made the sighting so easy

T-42 male is huge and scary. Following is the video on you tube that happened in the same area (qualji) that you went too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=KqzkEYf6YEU

[deky]

07/02/2013 - Afternoon Safari....contd

So again after sitting down for 5-10 minutes and giving us an opportunity to click loads of family photographs the mother decides to get up and be on the move

Mother gets up


Cubs watch their mother leave


Its a cue for them to leave too


They follow


Mother makes sure they are following


One needs a drink again


The other stretches


We thought that this would be the end of sighting but.....

They collect again


and start playing amongst themselves




We now want to leave the family to themselves and move on, so we start the vehicle and start re tracing our steps back to the main track. Only to realise that the family has taken a short cut and have reached the track before us. These are some seriously curious cubs. Luckily the mother is in a happy mood and lets them investigate all they want

Cubs appearing from the bushes


Start to follow the gypsy again


They are very close to the vehicle so I change my lens again to 18-70mm

View and distance from our vehicle


Marking territory


Other cub smelling


One cub decides to sit bang in the middle of the road blocking our way. (BTW, The most aggressive tiger T-42 & his mate T-37 in Qualji area are know for sitting on either side of safari vehicles, blocking thier ways. Tourists have known to be stranded there for hours because of this.)


Here are the three cubs


While the mother keeps an eye on what the kids are doing


She sits down peacefully






Finally the cub in the middle of the road gets up


Its time for us to move


The cubs continue to explore


We continue on the track and the cubs continue to follow for some time but then go in the bushes


We head off for about 100 mtrs and decide to stop at a dry river bed as we are still curious if the cubs will follow us or no?

A video of this sequence that we had shot. Note:- This video has been shot by my friend Anshu Pareekh and I am posting it here with his consent

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zrvz5xv288

To be contd......

[deky]

07/02/2013 - Afternoon safari Contd

So we come out and wait in the river bed for something to happen. We dont have to wait for long.

We see one cub sitting right on the track behind us


We look around and notice the other cub coming out of the bushes


Once the first cub see's the 2nd cub walking he starts to walk towards us too


He walks straight towards us


Both the cubs


One of them comes to about 5 feet of the gypsy


And walks past it


The whole family is in the river bed now


The mother is always behind, keeping an eye


Here is a video of them coming to the river bed. Again this video has been shot by my friend Mr. Anshu Pareekh. Notice how close they come to us in the gypsy. Btw the guy in the blue sweater over who's shoulder the video is shot is me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SzUhB6v_F0

Suddenly we realise that something has caught the attention of two of the cubs. We see its a huge male blue bull that is grazing in the dried up grass. The two cubs slowly start to stalk the huge deer. We wait in anticipation, but we also know nothing will happen as the prey is much bigger than the predator. Also the fact that these cubs are novice in hunting skills and the mother is not interested at hints at no kill. Yet the sequence that unfolds and the thrill that comes in watching these episodes live is a great wild life experience

Cubs stalking


One of my friends with me Mr. Anshu Pareekh managed to shoot the stalking video. I am posting this video with his permission. Play it with speakers on so that you can also listen to the thrill we underwent that time. Notice how the tigers crouch when they about to pounce on the animal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNDAhequl_s

To be contd........

[gd1418]

Exciting video of the two cubs stalking the Neelgai. The video is quite shaky. Was the jeep moving?

[ashesh]

Simply awesome!!! Deky Thanks for sharing

[deky]

Originally Posted by gd1418

Exciting video of the two cubs stalking the Neelgai. The video is quite shaky. Was the jeep moving?

No the jeep was stationary. Infact we were stationary there for almost 30 minutes. I think the sahking could be for two reasons, 1st being because of full zoom and the second being that there were total 7 of us in the gypsy (including driver) and jostling for space for good view and pictures

Originally Posted by ashesh

Simply awesome!!! Deky Thanks for sharing

Thanks buddy!!

[deky]

07/02/13 - Afternoon safari contd

There was lots of action that was happening for the last 1.5 hrs or so, cubs were following us, cubs were playing, cubs were chasing other animals etc etc. We were enjoying every minute of it as it was a matter of chance that through out all this we were the only gypsy in the area. This definitely gave us lots of free space to move. Also the fact that the tigers were in the open was a big bonus.

Then something happened which made me respect our National Animal a lot more. This is about family discipline!!

While 2 cubs had gone to chase a blue bull, one cub had disappeared in the bushes. Mother was left alone sitting in the river bed. After a while the mother looked visibly upset as her cubs had gone for more than 10 minutes and she could not see them from where she was. Suddenly, she lets out a blood curling roar, and what happened in the next couple of minutes was amazing. First cub appears and goes straight to the mother and greets or maybe apologises to her and sits down, 2nd & the 3rd cub appear and follow the same routine. One roar and the family is together. Speaks volume about the mother instinct of a Tigress and the discipline of her almost sub adult cubs.

With the cubs fooling around the mother was left alone


She looks to the left for them


She looks to the right


Looks at us


And lets out a roar that echoes through the valley


One cub appears through the bushes


Mother is happy now


Cub greets her and sits down


The 2nd cub appears and greets the mother as if to mark his attendance


As the 2nd cub sits the 3rd appears too


Marks its attendance with his mother


The family rests


Portrait of a family


The cubs are tired and want to rest


The mother is always attentive




The cubs have had enough of excitement for the day and decide to sleep



With the family united and resting peacefully we decided it was time for us to leave. We also have had enough excitement for the day and couldnt have asked for anything more. Seeing 6 different tigers in a day was no ordinary thing and now we could return back on a high.

Suddenly the day got only better as we spotted a sloth bear in the bushes. But as we reversed the gypsy it ran away, so could not take any pic. It was more special for me as in all my trips to Ranthambhore it was my first ever sighting of a bear.

We came out of the park, picked our cars and headed straight for Jaipur. Needless to say, though we were very tired but we were a very happy bunch in the car due to the days happenings.

THE END of this Ranthambhore trip!!

[gd1418]

A great picturesque travelogue. I was wishing it would not end...! Four-four tigers at a place and frolicking and your's was the only gypsy around. Some people have all the luck it seems..

[Clouseau]

Originally Posted by deky

07/02/13 - Afternoon safari contd

We came out of the park, picked our cars and headed straight for Jaipur. Needless to say, though we were very tired but we were a very happy bunch in the car due to the days happenings.

THE END of this Ranthambhore trip!!

Hi Deky,

Congrats on a great travelogue and great pics. Since I don't know you I can just say congrats on your amazing luck. If I knew you better I would curse you

Cheers!

[mallumowgli]

What a beautiful day you had Deky!! Excellent photo story

[T.U.P]

Greetings, Mr.Deky! I love your travelogues a lot! This one was especially good May i ask a question - how does one volunteer for this census? I've always wanted to participate in one myself, is that possible?

[deky]

Originally Posted by T.U.P

Greetings, Mr.Deky! I love your travelogues a lot! This one was especially good May i ask a question - how does one volunteer for this census? I've always wanted to participate in one myself, is that possible?

Thank you and Yes it is possible to take part in the census. Next time send an application to the field directors office showing your interest to volunteer in the census. The census takes place every year on the full moon night of May.

A Quick Trip To Ranthambhore - 05/12/2013


My friends had gone to ranthambhore on 04/12/2013. They were coaxing me to accompany them but due to some prior commitments I was not able to. They did the evening safari on 04/12/2013 but did not sight any of the big cats. In the evening they called me again to ask if I wanted to come but I reluctantly refused again . The problem with being in love with the jungle is that the heart always wins over the mind. Deep in my heart I wanted to go but my mind kept saying No, eventually before I retired for the night I had decided to reach Ranthambhore by early morning on 05/12/2013 and do a morning safari followed by an evening safari and return home the same evening.

Ranthambhore is just about 150 kms or 2.5 hrs drive from Jaipur. The morning safari starts at 0700 hrs so leaving Jaipur by 0400 hrs gives you enough time to reach in time for the safari. Yet I started at 0330 hrs. This was because of the excitement and also considering the fact that I was driving alone so I wanted to go slow. By 0600 hrs I had reached the hotel my friends were staying at.

Morning safari started at 0700 hrs and we were in Zone 5. Since we were early our's was one of the first gypsies to enter the zone. I feel it really pay's to be first in because if there is a tiger siting then you get to chose your point and watch the tiger in peace.

That is exactly what happened. No sooner we had entered within 15 minutes (at Gular kui) we saw a huge male tiger sitting about 15 feet away from us on our right. Luckily he wasnt any closer because if he was I wouldnt have been able to get him completely in my frame. This tiger was identified as 2.5 yrs old T64 or the male cub of T19


We realised that the tiger was pretty restless. This was not because of our presence but because of something else. He was twitching his body and was looking all around nervously. Within 2 minutes the tiger got up and came right in front of us. Here also he was not acting like a confident tiger but smelling here and there.




Actually, this is not his regular territory, but because he is reaching adulthood he wanders off from his regular area in search of making some area as his own. This behavior with sub adults is quite common. They get nervous in roaming around as the other resident tigers might confront them and this could get pretty bloody.

Slowly and gingerly he started walking on the track in front of our gypsy.


But all of a sudden he left the track and went towards our left towards a small water stream


This gave us an opportunity to go ahead of him so that if he comes back on the track again he would start to follow us and we could get the front view.


After smelling a few trees he definitely did come back on the track and was showing interest in one particular tree


When tigers (and some other animals) smell the presence of other tigers in the vicinity they curl up their lips and appear to grin. But this behavior is called Flehmen response


He kept smelling the tree for some time as another tiger must have had marked his territory there




Finally he decided to come back on the track and now he was right behind our gypsy


By then other vehicles had also arrived on the scene


Suddenly we heard some alarm calls coming from behind the other vehicles. This meant that there was another tiger not very far. T64 must have also realised this and he left the track and went back inside the bushes


The alarm calls didnt stop so that meant that the other tiger was still on the move and 64 was also now scurrying for cover. Being young he definitely wanted to avoid any confrontation.


Then suddenly from behind we hear a blood curling roar of the other tiger that was following T64. This tiger was identified as T28. Actually he is the father of 64 but once tigers reach adulthood the parents start to drive them away from the territories.

We saw T28 emerging from the bushes. Though we never got a clear sighting of him but the thrill to hear him roar and to experience their behavior was interesting


By now both the tigers has climbed up the hill playing the game of hide and seek so it was very unlikely that they would surface again. So we left them there and moved forward. At Tambakhan we saw another couple of gypsy's standing and all the passengers were out with their cameras. This indicated a sighting of another tiger. Yes there was one but the tiger was deep inside the bushes and capturing it even with a 300 mm zoom was impossible. I still took some pictures and after processing them heavily, this was the result.


We saw the pics of her on someones camera when she had crossed the road before hiding in the bushes and she was identified as T19. She is the mother of the cub we had just seen.

We decided to leave her there and it was highly unlikely that she would come out and went ahead. We went till Kachida and returned back to our hotel the same route. Thus ending our morning safari.

In the morning safari this was the only area sighting had happened and all the other vehicles not in the zone returned empty handed.

EVENING SAFARI!!!

No sighting whats so ever anywhere in the park in the evening, so we also returned empty handed. As soon as I came out of the park I took my car and returned back home to Jaipur ending another memorable trip to Ranthambhore.