Finally, this is the last of the 4 days visit to Ranthambore National Park. On reaching the Resort gate you realize that Guide Sunil and Driver Firoz have been replaced by Mukesh and Mehfooz.
Sunil & Firoz are presumably accompanying India’s top Industrialist, Mukesh Ambani, who too happens to be here along with his entourage.
Just before you reach Gate 3, you see a Leopard resting atop a wall behind a bunch of trees. Being at a distance, he is hardly visible. So you decide to move to gate 3, collect the keys that shall facilitate unrestricted inter-zonal travel.
Tigress Noor
To begin with, you first cross Zone 1 to reach Zone 6. Here you are lucky to have the first sighting of the day. Tigress ‘Noor’ is seen relaxing nonchalantly, well camouflaged within the dry grass at some distance.
Even as you are in the midst of taking her pictures, an indication of another Tiger sighted in Zone 1 comes through. Young and pleasantly agile Mehfooz loses no time and immediately turns the wheels.
On the way to zone 6, you have a few quick halts as you see some attractive avian-like ‘Asian Koel’, ‘Rose Ringed Parakeet’, ‘Greater Coucal’, and a ‘Spotted Dove’.
Tigress Sultana
On reaching Zone 6, the second stripped cat of the Day is before you. She is ‘Sultana’, daughter of ‘Noor’ ( the one just sighted in Zone1).
Sultana, unfortunately is nursing her injured leg, hence is resting under a large tree a little away from the safari-track. Her injury is the result of the fierce conflict she had with her mother Noor a day earlier. A fight that compelled her mother to vacate Zone 1.
She thus becomes the Fifteenth tigress sighted on this tour.
After few minutes, Mehfooz slowly drives ahead to a point to join other tourists. Here, you are in a vantage position with closer perspective of Sultana. Like all others, you too wait patiently in anticipation that after she wakes-up she may chose to walk across closer to you, and then towards the water-body.
By now, the Junior Ambani has joined the group too. He, unsurprisingly is in a more sophisticated vehicle than all others. But Sultana continues to remain the sought after star.
So, Anant Ambani like all others, waits for Sultana to get animated. But Sultana, unconcerned, decides to remain stubbornly lethargic. She shows least cognizance of anyone’s presence, ignoring even the attendance of the son of the Richest Man of this Country.
While she stays put at her place, you decide to have a round ahead. Here you come across an attractive ‘Jungle Myana’. Then there are few ‘Red Vented Bulbuls’ followed by pitch black luminous faced ‘Hanuman Langurs’ and finally some Sambhas.
Jungle Myna
Red Vented Bulbul
Hanuman langur
Hanuman langur
Sambha
Sambha
As you return on the same spot, you see Sultana still there. However, she has now shifted her position slightly. This is a propitious angle, you tell yourself. So after taking few more shots of her, including shots while she is yawning, you decide to leave, leaving her to herself.
In the meantime, it is afternoon of May and the temperature has soured. So as you cross these woods, there are golden leaves scattered all over. Trees with bony wooden limbs and skinny twigs are lined on both your sides. You are suddenly reminded of poet who describes this so beautifully :
I like the woods
In autumn
When dry leaves hide the ground,
When the trees are bare
And the wind sweeps by
With a lonesome rushing sound.
I can rustle the leaves
In autumn
And I can make a bed
In the thick dry leaves that have fallen
From the bare trees
Overhead.
James Tippett
As you move on meandering in the muddy trails of this forest, an impressive ‘Bengal Monitor Lizard’, a colorful ‘Black Rumped Flameback’ and a cute ‘Crocodile’ in a pond captures your attention.
Monitor Lizard
Black-Rumped Flameback
Crocodile
Chital
Looking at Chital, Mukesh is reminded of an interesting incident. “A few days ago, says Mukesh, as one of such chital, was rapaciously plucking Tendu leaves and having them for his meals, a Tiger by the name ‘Aeroid’ comes from nowhere and instead has this chital itself for his meals”.
Really? I asked with surprise. Don’t Deer have an exceptionally strong sense of smell? So why did this chital not realize tiger coming? Mukesh’s cogent answer was – Plausibly at that time the breeze was flowing in the opposite direction.”
After driving around 10 Kms, you now reach the exit of Zone 6-7. It is well past noon and it’s time for lunch. Soon after you enter Chidikho located across in Zone 8, have a quick round inside and leave almost immediately. You then proceed towards Zone 10, situated up in the hills via a place called Kundal.
Zone 10
No sooner Mehfooz takes the road leading to Zone 10, you get into a terribly patch where construction work is happening all along the way. Moreover Zone 10 is not quite popular among visitors. The Tiger sightings here are pretty infrequent. However you still want to go there just to experience the area’s distinct landscape. The distance being approximately 22 kms, it takes you over an hour to reach there.
The rugged safari track begins no sooner you enter zone 10. The forest here is thick but insipid. It lacks greenery. Later the climb on one of the hill seems pretty perilous forcing you to remain attentive and alert all through.
After reaching the plateau on the other side of the hill a Neelgai couple are seen busy in their routine chores.
So, as you now drive towards the exit, a propitious call from a deer compels Mehfooz to believe of Tiger’s presence around. He quickly detours on a different track directed towards that sound. However despite deep search, he couldn’t find any. Soon you give up and once again turn towards the exit.
As you are on the way out, you see an unexpected Gypsy zooming towards you from the opposite direction. His driver signals of Tiger behind. So without losing a moment Mehfooz turns his Gypsy and begins to follows.
16th Stripped Cat
So after following this Gypsy assiduously for around six kilometres, from a distance, you see around 8-10 gypsies standing. On getting closer, you find their occupants, all peeping down across the fence.
No sooner you join them, you see a beautiful young female Tigress sitting nicely beside a huge tree trunk. She is supposedly the 18 month old Younger Sister of Tigress ‘Noor’. Wow…
After few moments she serendipitously (luckily) gets up and walk nonchalantly towards the open space. Plausibly sensing why we all are here she kindly obliges with some interesting pose. The excitement is further increased as she comes closer and sits in the open, relaxed with her head resting on her leg.
Now each one gets ample opportunity to take her pictures. Some use their Mobile cameras with alacrity.
Regretfully both Mukesh and Mehfooz are clueless of her name or number. Nevertheless Noor’s sibling thus becomes the 16th Stripped Cat to have been sighted during this tour.
Overwhelmed, you leave Zone 10. On the way back a delightful bright full moon peeps from behind the trees. Ostensibly to bid adieu as an incredibly eventful trip finally comes to an end.
On to Jaipur
Next day morning after thanking the hospitable staff of White Mushroom Resort, you board the Car to proceed towards Jaipur, 160 Kms away.
On the way is an ancient “Amreshwar Mahadev Temple” a Shiva Temple situated high on a hill at the outer precincts of Ranthambore Reserve. This is where you take a short halt to pay obeisance to a primeval ‘Shivalinga.’ This Shivalinga, located in a small cave can be reached by taking around 200 steps up the hill.
Interestingly, a miraculous thin stream of water is seen flowing from within the rocks pouring right on the top of this Shivalinga. According to the pujari/priest there, this stream has been flowing non-stop, since time immemorial. Chanting Ohm Namha Shivya !!, you return.
After reaching Jaipur, you soon check in at your pre-booked ‘Hotel Lalit’. It’s time now for you to prepare for your next foray, this time into the forest of Jhalana, reputed for Leopard Sightings.
Anonymous
Excellent pictures👌
Anonymous
Excellent 👌👌
Anonymous
4.5
Anonymous
5