Tiger from Sariska

My first ever trip to Sariska and I was fortunate enough to not only sight a couple of Tigers but also photograph one. This dominant Male is ST-6 (erstwhile T-7 of Ranthambhore).

Apparently, all the Tigers of Sariska are radio-collared and a team of 2 trackers per Tiger on motorbikes conduct round-the-clock patrolling with hourly reports on their exact movements. While Tigress ST-2 (erstwhile T-1 of Ranthambhore and Machali’s daughter from her 3rd litter) has given birth to a litter of 2 recently, Tigress ST-5 (erstwhile T-44 of Ranthambhore) & Tigress ST-3 (erstwhile T-18 of Ranthambhore, Sundari T-17 & T-19’s sibling) are expected to follow suit soon.

While I was highly impressed with the monitoring efforts of the park authorities, I couldn’t help but feel that the presence of villages inside the park as well as the illicit grazing of livestock which have destructive effects on the habitat, strongly suggest yet another disaster waiting to happen.

Shot in extremely low light @ 6.45 p.m (prior to exit from the park) with extremely low shutter speed & mirror lock. I made this image from an angle whereby the radio collar would be obscured from view.

EXIF : Canon 7 D, Canon 100-400 mm IS, Av : f/5, 1/80, ISO 1000, FL 250 mm, Ev.Metering, Beanbag support.

Nice image. I visited this (then) sanctuary long years back and that was my first visit to any reserve forest and I fell in love with forests. There I heard how a male tiger killed five buffaloes before losing his own life. I sometime think, M.P or Maharashtra should show some generosity by providing one healthy male each for creating genetic diversity in tigers of Sariska. Thanks for sharing.SaktiWild

Thanks for the update from Sariska. It is good to know they are tracking the tigers, but as you said it has its disadvantages. Good that you could photograph without the collar in view. The collar can be really distracting and gives the feeling of a zoo, than a tiger in the wild :(. You have done well in the given conditions. How long were you there? Thanks for sharing.

I was there for a 1 Night stay enroute to Ranthambhore. While I sighted this Male on the evening safari & there was no sighting the next morning, I did sight a Tigress (ST-3 / T-18 of Ranthambhore, Machali's daughter) at 1.00 a.m on the main road / state highway which passes through the park (towards Alwar I presume). After having sighted 2 Hyenas outside our resort, we decided to go on a short drive in the middle of the night just to soak in the jungle atmosphere when a crazy honking truck driver sped past us @ perhaps 150 Km/Hr. It was only when the truck screeched to a halt 500 metres ahead of us that we realized that an animal might be crossing the road. It was then that the Tigress emerged out onto the road, growled / snarled at the Truck driver and crossed over to the interiors of the park.

Although I did give the Truck Driver a piece of my mind for his speeding habit, I also silently thanked God that the Tigress was safe & would live another day. Actually I wouldn't be shocked by news of road kills coming from Sariska. The inhabitants of not only Sariska but most NPs of India, seem to be in constant man-made danger. Will there be an end to this menace is anybody's guess.

Thanks Saktipada Ji & Mrudul Ji for your kind comments.

Look forward to Sabyasachi Ji's views on this as well.

Nice. you have done well to keep the collar out of view. Good to know that this park is limping back and the FD is doing its part.

TFS
Roopak

This image reminds me of one of my images of B2 of Bandhavgarh. You did a nice job of hiding the radio collar.

Nice to see this one and hear the details. I haven't been to Sariska since Dec 2004. During that visit, I had doubted that there were any tigers as the only pugmark we saw was of a leopard in three days. There were no alarm calls or warning signs of a predator. Piglets were numerous and were seen every where. After that it came out in papers that all the tigers were wiped out. Never felt like visiting Sariska after that.

I also hate watching tigers in a radio collar as ethically I am against it. I maintain this despite scientists saying that radio collar is important and anyone who raises their voice is against conservation. A tiger was not born with a radio collar. In US, they mandate rapists, criminals and "aliens" ie. people from other nations who are to be extradited by placing a radio tage around their ankle. I feel sad watching a majestic creature like a tiger. So I don't feel like going to Sariska.

The villagers are still there. The tourism traffic to pandupole is increasing rather than decreasing. So despite placing so many guards, the disaster will happen anytime. The mining mafia still influences the Government and they are loathe to openly take action against the illegal mining mafia.

It is sad to hear that vehicles travel at breakneck speeds.

The long term solution is to have more forest guards patrol in the forests, relocate villages from the interior of Sariska, curtain tourism traffic, and overall create a corridor between Ranthambhore and Sariska for natural dispersal of tigers and other wildlife. The last mentioned will be a huge task. I am not sure if the present political leadership is capable enough for such tasks.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi