Tiger from Sariska

[Vijay Rajan]

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.