Journey to the Jungle - BlogsJourney to the Jungle - Blogshttps://www.journeytothejungle.in/blogsSun, 22 Feb 2026 07:06:44 -0800http://zoho.com/sites/<![CDATA[Emergence of T-91 Alphonso and the changing equation of Ranthambhore]]>https://www.journeytothejungle.in/blogs/post/sighting-a-tiger-in-the-wild1Ranthambhore has always been Wildlife photographer’s delight. When we say Ranthambhore, the first thing that comes to mind is the scenic settings in a ]]>


T 91 Alphonso

Ranthambhore has always been Wildlife photographer’s delight. When we say Ranthambhore, the first thing that comes to mind is the scenic settings in and around the lake areas. Till now this famous lake areas were ruled by one family of tigers, always known to the who’s who of the wildlife. T-28 Star Male, T-19 Krishna his female, T83, T84 & T85 were all the familiar names here in Ranthambhore. Till very recently all these tigers used to be sighted and seen in and around these lakes. One may say those who have managed to get the bookings of those lake areas on a game drive are assured of their sightings if not all of them then atleast few of them. Day in and day out these tigers have been sighted on a regular basis and have become people friendly. I must say the boldness of the tigers of Ranthambhore is no second to the tigers of any other national park in India. The tiger would come close to the vehicle and will provide more than enough opportunities to the photographers and visitors to photograph them. It is as if the tigers of Ranthambhore know that these people come here to see them and in turn it is their duty to oblige them by giving frequent sightings.


As I said before the tiger family of lake area is more known to the people by and large. It is their dominance over this area that made them survive and sustain in this area for too long. But what I witnessed on my last trip to Ranthambhore was a complete turn around in the scheme of things. The Star Male who used to be seen in and around lakes all the time, is nowhere to seen there. Perhaps to counter my argument one may say particularly male tigers have large territories and they are not confined to a small area. Agreed that tiger has to visit all the corners of his territory to vigil and protect them but there remains few places in his territory which are their favourite ones and not to see them at their most loved place for far too long is a matter of worry in this case.


I managed to get a booking of lake areas for couple of drives and what I found out was that the T-28 Star male has been absconding and a new male has arrived here. For those who have seen and monitored the wildlife especially the tigers, from close will understand that these are ominous signs. What it means is either a new male called T-91 Alphonso with some injury marks on his body might have had a territorial fight with the resident male and ousted him and have taken over and claimed a large part of his territory, or T-28 Star Male might have given up his territory without a fight, however this possibility seems to be highly unlikely.

 

T-84 Arrowhead being a female is still seen in the said areas leading to the presumption that she might have accepted the intruder T-91 Alphonso as her mate. Apart from that the duo have often been seen together makes me say that the duo might be in their courtship period and could be seen as potential partners. What makes me believe to say so is, that no other tigers except T-84 Arrowhead are seen in and around the lake areas.


The emergence of new male has certainly changed the equation in Ranthambhore, and what happens in the near future will be an interesting preposition. Willthe new male extend his dominance further or will the old Star Male come back and reclaim his territory are the few things that have raised the levels of curiosity of every wildlife lover. As far as I am concerned I will have to wait for my turn till June to see how things unfold in the coming days.

]]>Wed, 05 Aug 2020 19:23:10 +0530<![CDATA[Sighting a tiger in the wild]]>https://www.journeytothejungle.in/blogs/post/sighting-a-tiger-in-the-wildThis is meant for those people who go into the jungle in great anticipation of sighting an apex predator called tiger. Usually these people can be clas ]]>
Sighting a tiger in the wild

This is meant for those people who go into the jungle in great anticipation of sighting an apex predator called tiger.

Usually these people can be classified in three categories viz a traveller who has come for an outing and visits the forest for a change, the second category is of wildlife enthusiast who does visit forests on a fairly regular basis and have some knowledge about wildlife in general and the third category is of professionals who come and pay visit to the forests often for the purpose of study, research, documentation and in-depth analysis. But one thing is common among all the three categories, i.e. to sight a striped cat.

People from the first category are generally happy go lucky ones whose basic endeavor is to spend a quality time somewhere out away from their home and hectic routine. These are the sort of people who will do couple of rounds to the jungle and if they happen to see a big cat in the wild even if it is a glimpse they will consider that they have got  their money's worth. The fortune of their tiger sightings totally depends on the driver and the guide accompanying them, their travel agents and of course luck also plays its part. Their probability of sighting is very less and is about 10-20 percent or maybe even low.

Now folks from the second category are bit more wiser, they know few things better than the masses from the first category. Their aim is to enjoy wildlife clubbed with few tiger sightings on the way. These people do more rounds to the jungle than the first ones and their probability of sighting a tiger goes up. Their sightings depend on factors like accompanists, their knowledge which they have acquired over a period of time and their luck. Sighting probability of these type of people is around 20-40 percent.

As far as the people from the third category are concerned their ratio of sightings are the best just because of the fact that they are more experienced, well trained, their sense of timing and the immense knowledge they possess about their subject. It's not that the accompanying guide and drivers along with destiny doesn't play any part in their sightings, on the contrary these wise men often choose the best in the business for themselves because every sighting is a matter of bread and butter for them. Their sighting probability is usually about 60-80 percent.

Many times people say, tiger sighting is all about to be at the right place at the right time which is true to some extent  but I always say if you want to see a tiger, don't purely rely on your luck alone, make things happen for yourself and work hard for, to be  at the right place at the right time. So what does it means is the obvious question ?  I say anybody who is visiting a wild and have a desire to see a tiger in the wild can enhance one's probability and match it to the ones of the professionals, provided you do your homework first . Now what sort of homework does one need to do is the question?  The answers is below.

Try to take as much information as possible from the locals, guides and drivers. Ask things like when was the last sighting reported?  Try to understand the habitat of that particular jungle, zone and route allotted to you and try to figure out the presence of number of  tiger / tigers on a specified route. For those who don't know let me tell you tigers are highly territorial animals and they will often been seen in their own marked territories. Try to know about the major locations such as lakes, waterholes, grasslands, valleys etc.on the route specified.

Be alert and patient. Keep your eyes and ears wide open. Try to listen to the alarm calls raised by different animals in the vicinity and always keep an eye for pugmarks on the dusty and muddy jungle floors, you may get a clue or two as to which direction a tiger have headed to. Always drive slowly and check the strategic locations such as nallahs, firelines, waterholes more frequently.  At times biding your time and waiting at a particular location such as waterhole for instance also pays rich dividends. Always feel the air in the jungle, you may come across a stench smell of a rotting carcass in any particular area. Think from the point of view of a tiger and question yourself as to where would you be at that given point of time had you been a tiger yourself depending upon the climatic conditions.

Always try to utilize the full time allotted to you for the safari, and make it a point to go in first and come out last. I am sure by following the above points your success ratio of sighting a tiger goes up drastically and by doing so you are not doing any harm to your probabilities on the contrary it will help you in becoming a better wildlifer.

And at last but not the least, even after following the above guidelines if you don't get to see a tiger, then you may surely say that you weren't destined to sight a tiger. However  I would say do not get dishearten and comeback rejuvenated and follow this routine again, luck cannot elude you every now and then. 

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