Ranthambore, Where Have all the Tigers Gone?
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How many tigers are left in Ranthambore? We ask our guide. “40 Tigers, but we sent 3 to another park because poachers killed all of them there.” He answers.
We are on safari at Ranthambore National Park in India. It is the premier place for sighting tigers in India. Apparently, this is your best shot to view them in their natural habitat. But something is wrong. The tigers numbers are dwindling at an alarming rate here in India and something has to be done to stop their disappearance before it is too late.
Are there any Tigers in Ranthambore?
We then hear from a German Couple that their guide book claims that only 15 tigers are left in the park. Another person tells us 28 is the total tally now. We aren’t sure which number is the truth, but instead of rising, I am afraid that the tiger population in India is dwindling.
Later we pick up a paper in Delhi and read that two tiger cubs were found dead in Ranthambore. Some sick person baited them with poisoned goats. We think about our guides words. “Today we are in a section that has a mother with two cubs, we have a good chance of spotting a tiger.” No wonder we didn’t see them.
Entrance gate to the Park
We spend two days in Ranthambore and don’t see any tigers. We talk to other people that have gone other days and they haven’t seen any either. Our hotel manager tells us that people go on safari seven days in a row and don’t see any tigers. We have only gone twice, so we should keep trying he tells us.
We decide to leave.
Rathambore was a disappointment as national parks go. The guide books state that you are almost guaranteed to spot a tiger and even if you don’t, it is still worth a visit.
We disagree.
In the two sections that we visited in Rathambore, it seemed to be a park dying a slow and painful death. We saw very little wildlife and spent our time driving around looking at a desolate landscape. The deer were so few and far between that we wondered if there were enough to even sustain the diet of 40 tigers. Let alone the few Leopards that apparently inhabit this land.
A Spotted Owl perched on a dead tree.
Not sure the name of this one!
Ranthambore claims to have over 250 species of birds, but we rarely saw a bird flying. We did manage to spot and owl and a green bird of some sorts, but not much else.
For a national park that is supposed to be protected, we wondered where all the animals have gone?
Only 1411 Tigers Remain in India
Our guide pointed out where villagers have been cutting long grass to feed their domesticated animals and we noticed litter and trash on the road. Crowds of locals walked freely in the park and we wondered what reason they had to be in there?
A monkey and her Baby
We had high hopes for our second day in Ranthambore. We hoped that is we went to another section we might see some more wildlife. It didn’t happen. We spotted the odd monkey and peacock and when we made our way for a short break by a watering hole we managed to spot a crocodile in the distance.
A crocodile lazes by a watering hole
But all in all, Ranthambore was a disappointment.
We read the paper often in India and every time we pick it up there seems to be more stories about deaths of big cats, poaching and poisonings at the various national parks throughout the country.
Billboards campaign that we must preserve the tiger as only 1411 remain alive in India. The number has for certain dropped to 1409 in just the past 2 days.
Something has to be done and I am afraid that we don’t have the answers and we have little hope.
Our guide tells u that 2010 is the year of the tiger in China. He shakes his head and worried for the tiger. I hadn’t thought of this before. You would think that would mean the preservation of tigers, but it doesn’t. In China that means a demand for tiger parts. Bones, tooth, nails. these are hot items for the superstitious.
Will 2010 be mark the beginning of the end for the tiger?
For more information on statistics and the plight of the tiger visit these websites.
Chinese Superstition the biggest threat to the Tiger
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We had a similar experience in Bandhavgarh, which according to LP, “offers day-trippers a 99.9% chance” of seeing the tigers. Granted, technically we did – one minute flash of orange for about 5 seconds. But considering we made 3 forays over 2 days to try to see them and never did again beyond that, it’s a bit depressing. Maybe they just didn’t want to be seen that day, en masse. Maybe. Sorry you didn’t have any luck either; I’m sure you were as excited as we were to see them in the wild.
I don’t think anyone really knows how many tigers are around in India – everyone gives a different figure – we have experienced really different numbers told to us in Ranthambore, apparently 16 cubs have been born over past year that brings population again to 40. I have done 9 drives over the past year and have seen tigers on 6 of them – so they are there, just very good at hiding! A few times they were really close to us and we hadn’t noticed at all. I think your luck does depend which zone you go to. Sorry you didn’t have any luck – you must return!
Good to hear that there are tigers being born. I’d love to see one in the wild before they disappear. Parks like Ranthambore are a very good thing for helping to save the Tigers. I’m just afraid it is too little too late.
That is just such a shame to hear – those poor little cubs; takes a sick person to do that. It’s going to have to be a much larger scale effort to save the tigers..I know in Northern Laos they’ve started a program to hire the local poachers to then actually protect the wild Gibbon monkeys – they pay them enough and educate them so that they then go stop other poachers – it’s an interesting approach I think, not sure how it works, but I feel like at least they’re trying some out-of-the-box thinking to solve such a big problem.
.-= Shannon OD´s last blog ..A Little Confusion…The LP and a Confusing Belize Border Crossing =-.
What you’ve said about conserving is true, and it is extremely angering when cultures use endangered animals for their own unnecessary wants. However when we visited Ranthambore about 4 months ago we did get to spot 2 tigers, so it isn’t impossible, but does greatly matter on the time of year. It’s too bad you didn’t get to Bandhavgarh South of Varanasi because it is a much more concentrated park, plus we saw a leopard!
.-= Lianna´s last blog ..Keeping My Head in Kalinga! =-.
Wow, that is so sad to hear considering that just four years ago we saw so much wildlife there, including two tigers.
.-= Akila´s last blog ..just another city: bangkok =-.
Such a sad story! My heart breaks for those two tiger cubs – sadder still is that I doubt anyone will ever face prosecution for such a sick crime. It’s such a shame that the Indian government doesn’t do more to help protect the wildlife that, simply by virtue of it’s habitat, finds itself subject to incompetent nature management.
.-= Trisha Miller´s last blog ..Marco Polo Didn’t Go There =-.
I’m sorry to hear it was a bore, but I’m so glad you went there. If you wouldn’t have, you wouldn’t have written this article. Now that you did, you made many people aware of this problem. I was very touched, I didn’t know much about this before but thanks to you guys I now do, and I will look into this more and see if there is something you can do to help.
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That is a bummer you didn’t see them. Well you have a great article that will help get the word out and hopefully people will start heeding the warnings about these tigers.
It was more sad that we didn’t see them because they are being killed and the numbers are dwindling. I was harsh writing about Ranthambore because I feel that something drastic needs to be done. If the national parks can’t do anything to stop the poaching who can? So I felt that it was important to let people know. If word gets out that the tigers are not there maybe the government will do something to save them. Tourist dollars bring in valuable revenue.
I have just come back from a trip to Ranthambhore. We did 8 safaris over 4 days and spotted 6 individual tigers. We then went on to Bandhavgarh and spotted another 3 individual tigers. Both parks were abundant with deer and other wildlife and birds. The reason there are local people in the park is that it has a buffer area that support local farming. These people are not allowed into the core areas of the parks.
The person that wrote this article clearly doesn’t understand wildlife very well if they think you can make a judgement of the health of a national park simply on the basis of a few 4 hours visits and a few moans from other guests. Please do more research before writing such information.
Having said that tigers are under threat and need more protection, however habitat loss is much more of an issue than poaching.
We were planning a trip to Ranthambore in end December this year. Wonder if it is really worth it? The article is very disappointing.
Hi Deepa, for us it was very disappointing, but then again another person just said that they had very good luck. Maybe they brought in some tigers.
We were in Ranthambore last month and saw two tigers over two days. It’s a matter of luck and I completely agree with JonW comments: the Park was abundant with wildlife and the person who wrote this blog/article must not know much about how to evaluate habitat health — particularly since this Park is in Rajasthan and a scrub forest, not the type of forest one might encounter in more northern latitude (like Canada, perhaps.) One of the tigers we saw was the only collared tiger in Ranthanbore. That’s how park guides know she is 12 years old. Ranthambore is considered quite a success story for these highly endangered animals, who are very difficult to view because of their habits.
Hi Thea,
I am glad that you had a good experience. I you read the article, we are talking more about the state of the tiger and wildlife in general in India. We aren’t upset about not seeing a tiger, if they are hiding and don’t want to be seen that is great. But to read that 3 were killed while we were there and to hear that 3 were moved because of poaching at another park; poaching does sound like a very real problem. We were alarmed with the lack of wildlife in general at Ranthambore. We have been to parks all over the world and while we may not always see the big cats or star attractions, we always see plenty of wildlife. I think parks like Ranthambore do wonderful things for the tiger and people like our guide care deeply about their well being. We hope that more can be done for the tiger, but statistics are proving that sadly time is running out. And we can’t turn a blind eye to that.
We arried back frm India and Nepal last week and were in Ranthamore for 2 days. We saw 2 tigers together bathing in the river, no more than 30 feet from our jeep. Also say plenty of deer, buffalo, monkeys, crocs, mongeese, birds etc through 2 safaris. Beautiful place.
We also went to Chitwan in Nepal and were lucky enough to see more wildlife there. No tiger but plenty of Rhino, one within 5 feet.
Enjoyed both of there parks, especially after the exotica in other places in India and Nepal