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Old 18th December 2017, 16:10   #1
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Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers

Every time I saw Tiger documentaries shot in Ranthambore on NatGeo/Animal Planet, the desire to visit this legendary Tiger reserve of India only became stronger. The landscape, terrain, climate & fauna of this place is just mind blowing. No wonder majority of Tiger documentaries are shot here.

Finally the time had come to quench my thirst to visit this place & 4 of us did this trip from 06th to 09th Dec 2017. 2 of us were visiting Ranthambore for the first time. The best time to visit Ranthambore to enjoy (with eyes & camera) the overall beauty of this forest is between Oct-Dec. The climate is pleasant, lakes nullahs & other waterholes have good amount of water & the autumn colors of orange, brown & green with clear blue sky highlight the beauty of this forest. The summer months will yield good tiger sightings but the beauty of the forest is not the same as what it is from Oct-Dec. All landscape images are shot with iPhone SE & all images of fauna are shot with Nikon D7200 & Nikkor 200-500 f/5.6 VR.

The Ranthambore Fort

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-01-ranthambore-fort.jpg

We stayed at Ranthambore Tiger Home. The place is very homely, hygienic, well maintained with awesome tasty food served. The service is top class. Would highly recommend if anyone is visiting Ranthambore. Took the Bangalore-Jaipur flights (up & down cost was INR 10K). Taxi was arranged by the owner of Ranthambore Tiger Home to pick us up from Jaipur airport. It took us almost 3 hours to reach Sawai Madhopur from Jaipur. All our safaris were booked in advance. The park has good tiger density & has 10 zones. Zone 1 to 6 are the most preferred but if you want to see the current biggest tiger of Ranthambore then you got to visit zones 8-10 which is less frequented by tourists.

The entry to Zone 2 & 3

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-02-zone-2-3-entrance.jpg

It rained throughout our first safari due to which there was hardly any movement of animals. It is unusual to rain in Dec in Ranthambore & probably it was due to the cyclone effect in Gujarat. This was kind of was a bummer & we did pray that the conditions should improve the next day. The rain gods did listen to our prayers & thankfully from the next day till the end of trip we had clear skies. Zone 3 is the prime real estate of Ranthambore. The Jogi mahal, Rajbagh lake & meadows, padam talab, malik talab which are shown in each & every Tiger documentary are in this zone. This is where the legendary Machli (T16) ruled for years. This area is now ruled by Arrowhead (T84) who is the grand daughter of Machli.

Arrowhead walking the ramp of Rajbagh Lake

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-09-arrowhead-island.jpg

In the morning, a couple of jeeps had seen Arrowhead cross the safari track & resting in the tall grass. We had to wait for almost 2 and a half hours to get this sighting. This was my first tiger sighting opportunity in Ranthambore & what an opening it was. You cannot ask for more than seeing a tiger walking up on a natural stone bridge from one end to the other of the famous Rajbagh lake. Arrowhead blessed me by walking on that bridge & crossed the lake.

Tiger in midst of hills & water

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-06-arrowhead-island.jpg

This zone teems with all kinds of fauna due to the 3 lakes (Padam Talab, Rajbagh & Malik Talab). In the evenings you will see large number of sambars in Malik Talab feeding. The water in this Talab has turned purplish due to algae. Below are a couple of panoramic images of Padam Talab & Malik Talab taken by phone in late evening.

Malik Talab

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-07-malik-talab-pano.jpg

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-08-malik-talab-pano.jpg

A safari track between Rajbagh & Malik Talab

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-05-rajbagh-safari-track.jpg

Arrowhead finally decided to come out of the Rajbagh meadows in the evening & walk the track. She was hungry & even stalked a wild boar. Have got few images of this but yet to process them where in the wild boar is not in the frame but the tigress can be seen stalking as both were on either sides of the safari track. However she gave up the chance & did not even charge at the wild boar due to the line of gypsies. The wild boar was completely unaware of her presence though. She put in her appearance multiple times by crossing safari tracks.

Arrowhead in the evening (mobile click)

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-03-arrowhead-mobile.jpg

Padam Talab

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-04-padam-talab-pano.jpg

The day started & ended on a high with multiple sightings of Arrowhead & enjoying the scenic beauty of zone 3. Returned back to the homestay, had a tasty & simple dinner & hit the bed wondering about what is in store for us the next day.


The next morning we started by entering Zone 1. There was slight fog & the morning golden light was not up yet though it was 7 AM. We heard a couple of spotted deer alarm calls in a couple of places accompanied by fresh pug marks of a tigress on safari tracks. We reached the sultanpur chowki & were told by the forest guard that there were alarm calls in & around the chowki. So we took a right at the chowki junction & continued a little further only to see pug marks of a male tiger but there were no alarm calls through. This got us in a catch 22 situation whether to follow the male tiger's pug marks or to follow the tigress.

Nilgai

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-15-nilgai.jpg

By then we saw a gypsy coming from the opposite direction. Our driver & guide were quick enough to realize that going further ahead might not be worth taking the risk. Hence we backed up & were a little ahead of Sultanpur chowki where 2 gypsies had parked & were waiting. We heard spotted deer & Langur alarm calls. Within 10 minutes we saw Noor (the tigress of whom we had first seen pug marks earlier) & her 3 sub adult female cubs emerging out of the bushes. Probably she returned to her cubs from her routine patrolling. They crossed the safari track & walked towards the Pahadi. For the next 2 hours or so we were able to get glimpse of the cubs in intervals walking on the rocks.

Somewhere in zone 4 during the trip

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-11-zone-4-landscape.jpg

Later in the day the mother (Noor) along with her 3 cubs relaxed on the safari tracks & even walked around a bit. 2 of the cubs were trying to prove their dominance & had mock fights. Will post an image of this by this weekend as I am yet to process it. A couple of images from this sighting which I have processed.

2 out of the 3 female sub adult cubs of Noor

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-15-noor-cubs.jpg


Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-21-noor-cubs.jpg


Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-22-noor-cubs1.jpg


With this our day ended & we were on top of the world. The next day was the last day of our trip & were hoping that our luck continued & we could end the trip with a bang.

Somewhere in Zone 2 during the trip


Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-14-zone-2-landscape.jpg

Cormorant

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-12-cormorant.jpg


Somewhere in Zone 2 again

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-16-landscape.jpg

The next day we entered the gate at 7 AM. Looked around for T19 Krishna (Arrowhead's mother) but there were no signs of her movement anywhere. Arrowhead was seen in Zone 3 by few gypsies. We decided to check out for T60 (a tigress with sub adult cubs) & Noor again. We did see few old pug marks of T60 & her cubs. We were heading back to Noor's territory & when we were about 50 meters from a T junction, we see Noor appear suddenly & 3 of us in gypsy say "Tiger". She was again patrolling & scent marking her territory. As our's was the only gypsy we could reverse & maintain a good distance as she kept walking head on to us. She walked for almost 1 hour 15 minutes with a small break of 10 minutes where in she rested.

Noor Head On

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-18-noor-headon.jpg

Desert Fox during our trip

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-23-desert-fox.jpg

Thus ended my first trip to this glorious park which will be etched in my life forever. A few more parting shots & thank you for reading this travelogue.
Attached Thumbnails
Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-24-last-landscape-shot.jpg  

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-10-malik-talab.jpg  

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-13-zone-4-landscape.jpg  

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-19-t60s-territory.jpg  

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-20-landscape1.jpg  

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Old 18th December 2017, 16:54   #2
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re: Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers

I have just returned from my Ranthambore Trip a week ago. Have taken the safari to both Zone 1 and Zone 3. While I didn't have a single sighting in Zone 3, Zone 1's tigress and her 2 cubs (Both she) were quite brave, and they were around our Canter the whole time. My pics were not good enough though, this was the first trip I really felt I miss a DSLR in my life.
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Old 18th December 2017, 17:01   #3
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re: Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers

Fantastic report, stunning pictures!

The pictures of the tiger tip-toeing near the water, Nilgai and those with the two sub-adults are brilliantly captured! How far were you from the two sub-adults while clicking?

You seem to have had quite some luck with the sightings and proximity!

We've been to Ranthambore '13 and had a sighting in only one (the first) of six safaris. Even that was just a teaser: we spotted the tiger about 200 ft away and word spread so quickly that every jeep was at the spot carrying people that did not seem to believe such moments are to be enjoyed in silence. To make things more irritating, we went during the day(s) when the temple atop the hill is visited so that route was awfully chaotic.

Attaching a picture, hope you don't mind!

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-dsc02863.jpg
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Old 18th December 2017, 17:25   #4
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re: Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers

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Originally Posted by libranof1987 View Post
Fantastic report, stunning pictures!

The pictures of the tiger tip-toeing near the water, Nilgai and those with the two sub-adults are brilliantly captured! How far were you from the two sub-adults while clicking?

You seem to have had quite some luck with the sightings and proximity!

We've been to Ranthambore '13 and had a sighting in only one (the first) of six safaris. Even that was just a teaser: we spotted the tiger about 200 ft away and word spread so quickly that every jeep was at the spot carrying people that did not seem to believe such moments are to be enjoyed in silence. To make things more irritating, we went during the day(s) when the temple atop the hill is visited so that route was awfully chaotic.

Attaching a picture, hope you don't mind!
Thank you for liking the trip report & images. The sub adults were ahead of us walking the track & there were 4 gypsies following them. Ours was the 2nd gypsy & when the tigers decided to take a break by sitting on the track we were may be 25 to 30 meters away from them. Couldnt reverse as there were 2 more gypsies behind us.

Adding a picture you took adds value to this thread. No problem

Last edited by Torque123 : 18th December 2017 at 17:26.
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Old 19th December 2017, 15:22   #5
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Re: Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers

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Originally Posted by Torque123 View Post
All our safaris were booked in advance. The park has good tiger density & has 10 zones. Zone 1 to 6 are the most preferred but if you want to see the current biggest tiger of Ranthambore then you got to visit zones 8-10 which is less frequented by tourists.
Nice clicks and you are lucky to get these many sightings on your first visit! If you don't mind - how much did the safari cost and what is the best way to arrange these? Through the guest house/hotel? Thanks in advance.
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Old 20th December 2017, 13:31   #6
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Re: Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers

Boy! Some really excellent pics there.. Watching a tiger in the wild is the ultimate, i had seen a couple of them during the visits to Kabini last year. Never visited the parks in central India, hopefully next year.
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Old 3rd January 2018, 12:01   #7
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Re: Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers

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Originally Posted by Traveller Nayak View Post
Nice clicks and you are lucky to get these many sightings on your first visit! If you don't mind - how much did the safari cost and what is the best way to arrange these? Through the guest house/hotel? Thanks in advance.
Thank you for liking the images. We visited as a group of 4. The total trip cost was INR 60K per person (all inclusive, flight costs too) & all our permits were booked by the home stay. Normal safari permits at Ranthambore can be booked 120 days in advance. It is impossible for one to book all your safari permits online for Ranthambore, as the moment the booking opens for the 120th day from today within 2 minutes all permits are booked. The way safari permit bookings work there is not very transparent & it is kept that way intentionally. We did 3 full day safaris & 1 half day safari.



Quote:
Originally Posted by KAUBMW7 View Post
Boy! Some really excellent pics there.. Watching a tiger in the wild is the ultimate, i had seen a couple of them during the visits to Kabini last year. Never visited the parks in central India, hopefully next year.
Thank you for liking the images. Yes, the experience of seeing a big cat in wild is something explainable. Do visit Tadoba or Ranthambore this season. They are rocking at the moment.
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Old 3rd January 2018, 16:27   #8
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Re: Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers

Excellent report, Torque123. Great pictures of Noor's cubs too. They've grown quite a bit since I last saw them. Arrowhead at Rajbagh lake is a regular sighting now. Pacman used to be here too, but seems to have moved elsewhere. I had a very close encounter with him last year, close enough that I could capture only his head at 200 mm!

I see that your gear is same as mine, a D7200 and a 200-500.
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Old 5th January 2018, 19:29   #9
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Re: Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers

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Originally Posted by Stryker View Post
Excellent report, Torque123. Great pictures of Noor's cubs too. They've grown quite a bit since I last saw them. Arrowhead at Rajbagh lake is a regular sighting now. Pacman used to be here too, but seems to have moved elsewhere. I had a very close encounter with him last year, close enough that I could capture only his head at 200 mm!

I see that your gear is same as mine, a D7200 and a 200-500.
Thank you for liking the travelogue & pictures. Yes, Noor & her cubs are the main attraction now at Ranthambore. Yes, I use the same camera gear as you
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Old 17th January 2018, 16:29   #10
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Re: Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers

Processed a few more images of the trip last week. Hence uploading the same.

Noor cubs fighting

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-noor-cubs-fighting.jpg

Noor on Track

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-noor-afternoon1.jpg

Noor Head On

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-noor-afternoon.jpg
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Old 3rd May 2018, 13:04   #11
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Re: Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers

I was in Ranthambore last week for a 3 nights 4 days trip. Had a cracker of a trip with 18 different tiger sightings. Travelogue coming up soon.

A teaser pic of the legendary tiger Fateh
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Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-fateh-headon.jpg  


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Old 1st June 2018, 19:37   #12
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Re: Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers

If you are a wildlife enthusiast, Feb to May is the time of the year when you are confused as to which Park to visit. My trip to Ranthambore in Dec 2017 was one of the most memorable wildlife trips I have done till date. It was decided then that it is going to be Ranthambore in April too.

5 months was too much of a wait which resulted in 2 awesome trips to Tadoba in Jan & March. Will update on these trips shortly in a separate thread I have for Tadoba & other Tiger reserves. 5 of us visited Ranthambore & Jhalana from 27th April to 01st May. All images are shot with Nikon D7200 & Nikkor 200-500 f5.6 VR II.

So it was "The Day" Apr 27th, took the 6.10 AM flight from Bangalore to Jaipur. Landed at 8.40 AM in Jaipur & our cab (Innova) was ready to pick us up. Reached Sawai Madhopur at around 12 PM with a chai break in the middle. For the next 3 nights "Ranthambore Tiger Home" was our home away from home. We had stayed here in December too & the stay, food & service was as usual the best. Freshened up, had a quick lunch & we were ready for our first safari of the trip.

1st Safari (27th Apr afternoon) - We had Zone 2 booked for this round. Finished all the formalities at the gate & we entered the park at 3.00 PM. 15 minutes into our drive & we see T57 (male tiger) relaxing in a waterhole & he was in a deep slumber. He hardly even moved. Our guide suggested that we should try to find a different tiger as this guy would not move around until late in the evening. By now majority of the gypsies in Zone 2 had gathered here & it was a wise suggestion given by our guide to move on & try to find another tiger.

So we went ahead with his suggestion. There is a tigress (T-60) with 2 almost fully grown sub adult cubs around the same area. T-57 is the father of these sub adults & the cubs have separated from their mother. Checked a couple of other waterholes & we see 1 of these sub adult cubs sleeping in the undergrowth. Waited for him to move around but like his father, he too was lazy. Waited here for more than an hour & expected some action. But unfortunately he was content with the shade & occasional breeze & did not move. Shuttled between both these places a couple of times. Post 5 PM got to see both these tigers move. The sub adult went & sat in the near by waterhole from where he was initially sleeping. Both the tiger sightings were so close that I could only fit half their body in the frame with the lens fully zoomed out. Have taken record shots of both these sightings & will post them by tomorrow.

By now it was 6 PM & it was time to exit. On our way back to gate we get to see this sub adult cub of tigress Noor (T-39) relaxing in a waterhole which is between a rocky terrain. She has separated from her mother & is trying to establish her own territory in the fringes of her mother's territory. This tigress is not yet numbered or named by the FD. She is the boldest among the 3 daughter's of Noor.

Noor's (T-39) Daughter

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-noors_sub_adult1.jpg


2nd Safari round (28th Apr morning) - This round we had our permits booked for Zone 6. This is a very rocky terrain & I had not seen the majority part of this zone when I had visited last time. It was a cloudy morning & around 45 minutes into the safari we see Kumbha (T-34) walking on the track & marking his territory. He walked for a good 10 to 15 minutes during which there was a slight drizzle. The light was bad & there were gypsies in the background. Did manage to take a few decent shots which am yet to process. Will be posting the images of the first two sightings of the first safari, & the image of T-34 by tomorrow. Later in the safari we did manage to get a glimpse of Laadli (T-8) & her 2 sub adult male cubs. They were resting in the undergrowth. This ended our 2nd safari.

We had a half day safari booked for our afternoon round. So we entered Zone 2 again hoping to get T-60's sub adult cubs or Noor (T-39). Further from the place where we had seen one of T-60's sub adult cubs during our 1st safari was another waterhole. We did see fresh water droplets on the soft soil which indicated that a tiger was relaxing in that waterhole all the while & had just then moved. However we did not know which tiger it may be. All eyes were wide open & everyone was scanning every inch of the forest.

T-60's sub adult male cub

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-t60_sub_adult_overlooking1.jpg

Just then our guide & driver saw T-60's sub adult male cub sitting on a sandy mound in shade of the trees. He initially did not move but after a couple of minutes started walking. In the above image his attention was towards a Sambar which was giving alarm calls. It again started drizzling & the light was not good. He stood & sat in the same place for sometime analyzing the situation. We were not sure what he was looking at. After few minutes he again started walking & there was a rocky nallah close by. All of us were hoping that he would walk head on to us in that nallah & the moment that happened all the camera shutters started going crazy. Below are a couple of images from this sighting.

T-60's sub adult male cub


Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-t60_sub_adult_on_rocks1.jpg


T-60's sub adult male cub on the rocks


Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-t60s_sub_adult1.jpg


T-60's sub adult male cub


Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-t60s_sub_adult_paw_raised1.jpg


After he walked on the rocky bed of the nallah, he was trying to stalk something. We thought he was trying to stalk the Sambar which was giving alarm calls. We could neither see the Sambar nor see what he was trying to stalk as the safari track ahead was a steep incline. We were lucky too see this behavior of a Tiger stalking. He then climbed the steep incline & was looking at the Sambar in a crouched position. However his cover was blown because his approach/direction for the hunt was from the wrong end (will tell you why after a few lines). Once he realized that his cover was blown he then walked towards the Sambar (not with an intention to hunt). So when we re-positioned our jeep that is when we we saw his brother sitting further ahead. Till then we were not aware of a 2nd tiger being in the vicinity. The Sambar was never aware of the 1st tiger till it climbed the incline & was instead giving alarm calls after seeing the 2nd tiger. That is why I mentioned that the approach/direction of the 1st tiger to hunt was wrong. Below is an image of T-60's second sub adult male cub. Have processed only 1 image for now. Will post a few more by weekend.

T-60's second sub adult male cub

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-t60_sub_adult_yawn1.jpg

TO BE CONTD..

Last edited by Torque123 : 1st June 2018 at 19:43.
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Old 17th July 2018, 14:47   #13
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Re: Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers

The next day was a full day safari. The intent was to find T-19 (Krishna) & her 3 cubs. T-19 is the daughter of the most famous tiger in the world T-16 aka Machli. Entered zone 3 & straight away headed to zone 4 which is T-19's territory. There was not much movement of her or her cubs in the last 2 to 3 days. News was that she was looking to make a kill & they were seen the previous evening. Scanned entire Zone 4 & there were no pug marks or alarm calls. Decided to check Zone 5 which has Tigress T-41 (Laila) & her almost fully grown male cub which has still not separated from his mother.

T-57 male tiger from the 1st safari

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-t57.jpg


T-57 when he finally decided to move

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-t57-rock.jpg

We heard a couple of spotted deer alarm calls & waited for some time in Berda area of Zone 5. But the calls faded away in a couple of seconds. Checked other parts of Zone 5 & the forest was calm with birds chirping away to glory. So our guide decided to check the Berda area again & Yes, he was spot on. We saw fresh droppings of a Tiger along with pug marks on the track & we knew it should be either T-41 (Laila) or her sub adult son. We followed the pug marks & within 200 meters found the son of T-41 (Laila). This guy has not yet been given a number by the forest department.

T-41's sub adult male cub (yeah, he does not look like a cub anymore)

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-t41-lailas-sub-adult-cub.jpg

He is going to venture out on his own soon

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-t41-lailas-sub-adult.jpg

He was exploring his mother's territory by sniffing around & scent marking. He walked around & then crossed a nallah & climbed the rocky hill which has caves to relax for the rest of the day.

Exploring his mother's territory

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-t41s-sub-adult-sniffing.jpg

Crossing the nallah

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-t41s-son.jpg

Came back to Semli in Zone 4 & there were 2 gypsies parked. They indicated that there is a tiger around the waterhole. We slowly & cautiously approached the gypsies & saw 2 out of the 3 cubs of T-19 resting behind the rocks. The distance was quite a bit with a lot of clutter with no photo opportunities. The guests in the other gypsies said the cubs were alone with no sign of the mother around. It was already around 9 AM & we knew that she had gone scouting for a prey & would not return to her cubs for a few more hours at least.

Our guide suggested that we should try the Bakola area as it is one of T-19's hunting grounds & it has a lot of shade & water to rest too. So we did go to that area & one gypsy had already seen her resting in the water. She had been resting there for quite some time. We did have a glimpse of her & decided to wait at a distance where she could not see us expecting her walk the safari track once she was done resting. Yes, we were right she did decide to walk the track. I messed up with the settings & curse myself for not getting the below 2 images right.

T-19 aka Krishna

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-t19-krishna.jpg

She really has made her mother Machli proud

Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers-t19-krishna1.jpg
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Old 18th July 2018, 23:12   #14
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Re: Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers

Fantastic travelogue with stunning pictures. Can imagine the experience you must have had. I plan to visit Ranthambore in November this year. Unfortunately due to lack of time, we will get a chance to do only 2 safaris. Hope we have some luck. Which would be the best 2 zones to visit?
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Old 19th July 2018, 13:50   #15
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Re: Ranthambore - Land of Forts, Hills & Tigers

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Fantastic travelogue with stunning pictures. Can imagine the experience you must have had. I plan to visit Ranthambore in November this year. Unfortunately due to lack of time, we will get a chance to do only 2 safaris. Hope we have some luck. Which would be the best 2 zones to visit?
Thank you for liking the travelogue & images. Nov-Jan is the right time to visit Ranthambore if you want to see it in its full glory. I am doing Ranthambore in Dec again . I would always prefer to visit Ranthambore during this time. The forest is completely different during this time when compared to summer. Tiger sightings will be lesser compared to summer but the sightings you get will be in a beautiful landscape. Lot will change in Ranthambore by November because most of the tigresses will be having new cubs & the current cubs would have separated from the mother. I would still suggest to visit Zone 2 & 6. All the best & happy sightings .
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