When on safari in ranthambore, you have little sense of direction. Each safari covers a specific zone (there are eight in the national park), The guides speak Hindi with each other, and much of the park looks the same this time of year- bare trees, shrubs and the occasional low-leveled lake. One moment you are tearing down a mountain path, the next you are sitting in the shade, driver and guide figuring out next steps. Your experience is truly at the discretion of the guide and the luck of your safari path.
On our second drive, we were once again striking out. The afternoon sun was blazing, and like any sensible jungle cat, the tigers were believed to be taking naps deep in the forest. However, our guide seemed to be tipped off by one park ranger and made a quick u turn. Soon we seemingly at a dead end with a sleeping park ranger in front of us. Our guide has a few brief words with the still sleepy gentleman and we pass through a hidden path along a lake. Moments later we see 2 jeeps ahead with professional camera crews from national geographic. To our right, a wild tiger. However, moments later we drive off and the guide swears us to secrecy. We had crossed a boundary reserved for national geographic and needed to leave ASAP before the non-sleeping park rangers were alerted. When most of the other jeeps met up to share recon we learned that no one else had seen a tiger. And when asked by a neighboring jeep, neither had we. I have seen tigers in books, zoos, movies and cartoons. But there is something about seeing it in the wild, without the safety benefits of moats or cages that adds to the excitement. These are truly extraordinary creatures to see up close and personal. My favorite part of the tiger is his / her paws - they are huge and I hope one day I can give one a pedicure / paw massage.
The next am we saw another tiger. This time right after he picked up lunch in the form of a deer. Now we were two / two and hoping for more tigers. Unfortunately no more tigers would be seen and we would conclude our visit with 2 sightings. I have included some photos below.
My tiger sighting was great if not a touch bittersweet because I'm a lunatic. Seeing a tiger in the wild is like going to a nice strip club. Women are nice to look at but you want to touch...and that is strictly forbidden! And now, you can't pay extra for personal tiger time - there is no tiger champagne room.
Next stop today - Jaipur via the Indian railroad system.
Jacob / sop
No comments:
Post a Comment