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.
