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We had an amazing Tiger sighting when we found
this pair of Tigers.
They were mating about every fifteen minutes and I spent two
hours taking their picture.
Ranthambore: This park is probably the most famous of the India's Tiger Parks and it is the most controlled. By controlled I mean there are restrictions on the number of vehicles allowed in the park. Only ten jeeps are allowed in the park, at any given time. They also allow two open, dump truck kind of vehicles, with seating for twenty people. Ranthambore's entry fees were 575 RS or about $15.00 per jeep, per visit. The jeeps come for a pool of locally owned vehicles that are assigned on a rotating basis.
Ranthambore has an immense ruins of a fort that dates back to the eleventh century. The fort is built high atop an almost vertical cliff. You've probably seen pictures on TV of tigers prowling among the ruins. I suspect that it is unusual for a tiger to be up there because all of their prey is down in the valley. There are hundreds of smaller ruins, mostly temples, scattered around the valley, and the entire area. Not much is known about the people who built the fort.
Ranthambore's habitat is quite arid and open. It is known as one of best parks to see a tiger, probably due to the openness of the terrain. Even that, however, is no guarantee. I met one couple who had been on 11 game drives in Ranthambore, and had never seen a tiger. Ranthambore does not have elephants. I was told, this was because it got so hot in the summer, that it literally burned up everything, and there was nothing for elephants to eat.
My first truly exceptional tiger encounter occurred at Ranthambore. One evening we came upon an adult male and an adult female tiger laying close to each other right beside the road. My first thought was, 'I thought that tigers avoided each other unless they were mating.' In a couple of minutes we had the answer. They were mating. They mated five times in the hour we watched them and I shot seven rolls of film.
After watching them, I learned that coupling is always initiated by the female. She would decide it's time, and get up and literally run over to the male, and rub her rear end across his nose. She would then crouch down in front of him and he would mount her. Coupling would only last 15 or 20 seconds. When the male was finishing he would grab the female by the back of the neck, and then leap off and turn to face the female, ready to defend himself. More often then not she would leap up, snarling and slashing at him. I doubt that rape is ever considered by male tigers. I now also know, that the man who claims he's like a tiger in bed is lying. No man could come close to matching a tiger.
Tigers In India | Bandhavgarh | Kanha
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This page was last updated: March 15, 2008