INDIA 2011: Ranthambhore NP – part 1

Day 3 / Jan 7 – We were conveniently based for five nights at the appropriately named Tiger Den for our visit to Ranthambhore National Park. We embarked on the first of seven game drives inside the 390 sq km park working the core zone around the three lakes and 10th century hill fort. Sher Khan, the ultimate feline, was our main goal and we were not to be disappointed.

Pankaj, our excellent tracker, arrived at 6:30 am to pick us up in the canter, an open topped vehicle, that we would be using in the park. An usually cold spell combined with fog was upon us. Each morning we would bundle up and take advantage of the heavy blankets provided in the canter to wrap us up and stay warm.

At the main gate a new policy was in effect and our passports had to be checked to make sure they matched up with all the paperwork we had already filled out! While Pankaj, was finding out which route we would be assigned, John’s mustache continued to attract attention, this time from all the hawkers to whom we introduced him as the “Raj of Raritan!”

It was to be Track or Zone 4 and we were off on safari! The track begins through a forested area bordered on one side by a stream bed and the other a hill. The occasional Sambar (above) could be picked out blending in well with the landscape. The birds were quiet until we reached a more open area of grassland and Dhokh trees where Grey Francolin could often be heard. Red-vented Bulbuls were everywhere and looking at a distant Eurasian Sparrowhawk we found two Jungle Prinias. On Malik Lake four drake Red-crested Pochard showed nicely, Oriental Darters sat with their wings out drying and the bright blue backs of White-throated Kingfishers stood out in the morning light.

At an official bathroom stop we enjoyed a cup of chai tea while Rufous Treepies were eager to feed on any biscuit handout we would offer them. A stroll around the building produced Great Tit, Large-billed Crow, Tree Pipit and Alexandrine Parakeet. On our return journey we would add Black-shouldered Kite, Red-headed Vulture, Greater Coucal and a slew of Yellow-footed Green Pigeons.

By late morning we were back at the Tiger Den, taking advantage of an hour before lunch to walk around and see what was in the open arid scrub surrounding the lodge. We began with a Wryneck (above), a rather unique bird that is in the woodpecker family, cryptic, and as its name suggests, can turn its head 180 degrees! This was followed with some excellent sightings that included Indian Bush Lark, Isabelline Shrike, Rufous-tailed Wheatear and White-tailed Stonechat.

At a small pond that held the same Green, Common, Wood and Marsh Sandpiper, Redshank, Spotted Redshank and Black-winged Stilts as it did a month ago, we watched a pair of Painted Sandgrouse (above)slowly walk around the perimeter.

For the afternoon game drive we were on Track 3 which is within the territory controlled by the 4 year old tigress known as “ The Lady of the Lake” or T-17 (below). If anyone has recently watched a 2010 Discovery and HD documentary called “Clash of the Tiger Queens,” it was all about how she took over this territory from her mother a year ago.

Entering from the fort gate we were soon watching a White-browed Fantail and Muggar Crocodiles, as Woolly-necked Storks and River Terns flew over Malik Lake.

There was a heavy congregation of canters and gypsy’s in an area where the tigress had killed a Sambar, but none of us could see either her or the kill. We did find a spot where those tracking her by radio allowed us to view her, but we could only see her tail wagging as she lay down in the shade behind a large euphorbia. There was additional excitement as a Sloth Bear was sighted nearby, but as with the tigress, the view was brief and unsatisfactory.

Our luck changed when we returned to the area of the kill just as the radio collared tigress (above) got up and began to go for a walk, her stomach obviously full. For 15 minutes we watched her walk through the woods and along several paths before she vanished into denser vegetation.

As we headed towards the exit gate, we drove around the back of Rajbagh Lake and came across the Sloth Bear (above) walking along the wooded shoreline. We could see her using her long sharp claws to rip open a small termite mound, feed on a handful of termites before moving on. We considered ourselves extremely lucky to see both these elusive forest creatures.