Ranthambhore, 10 Aug : As soon as the name Ranthambhore is heard, the first thing that comes to anybody's mind is Tigers. Definitely, Ranthambhore is famous for its Tiger Tourism across the globe.
But Ranthambhore is not all about Tigers, Ranthambhore is beyond Tigers, there are a variety of species that founds themselves hidden under the shadow of the Tiger.
The practice of "Tiger nahi dikha to kuch nahi dikha" (Means If Tiger is not seen, nothing is seen) is a wrong practice and not at all good, after 3 hours of Safari a guest comes out and shouts on gypsy operator and guide "Are bhiya aapne Tiger to dikhaya hi nahi," hamare to sare paise waste ho gaye" (Means "Hello Brother You didn't show us Tiger, Our whole money is wasted") this is the situation that every nature guide or gypsy or tour operator faces most of the times.
And due to this pressure from the tourist they (the gypsy walas and guides) unfortunately had to skip everything but had to rush towards a site where they can have the chance of Tiger Sighting, this is the situation in most of the tiger reserves. Due to this pressure there is adverse effect on behavior of Tigers as well, and they comes easily under stress and could become aggressive due to this ill-practice. Unnecessary pressure of Tourism on Tigers has proven fatal for this species.
But this is not the way of observing a jungle, neither these tigers are captive, they roam free in their natural environment and habitat for food, water, marking of territory, to mate, etc. rest of the time they keep themselves hidden in their resting place, to see a tiger during a safari is purely a chance of luck.
Remember whenever you enter a forest try to watch as many things as you can watch during the tour, from langurs to peafowl, Spotted deer to wild boar, from Sambar to hare, from grey francolin to butterfly, from a basking crocodile to a roof turtle, from crested serpent eagle to brown fish owl you will see that you've enjoyed the beauty of the jungle more than anything, and your trip is worth.
When you start observing jungle-like that, even playful jackals and foxes will attract you more than a tiger sighting.
Alarm calls of Langurs and a sudden rush of Sambar and Spotted deer herd evading a predator with barking calls is more interesting to watch, see the coordination between langurs and Sambar and Spotted Deer.
Sloth bears are also worth watching in Ranthambhore carrying their babies on the back. There are a variety of small cat species here like Caracal, Jungle Cat, Fishing Cat, Rusty Spotted Cat if you're are lucky you can see one of them.
When rushing towards a tiger sighting you might mis-out a hole of tree in which an Indian Scops Owl is waiting for you.
Ask your nature guide or naturalist about what kind of vegetation is here how many species of rare plants are here, ask him how many medicinal plants are found in Ranthambhore, ask about the history of Ranthambore, ask how many vultures species are found in Ranthambhore, ask your nature guide have you seen a pangolin or a caracal?
How many Raptors are found in Ranthambore, you might find a Shikra, to Short-toed Snake Eagle, Crested Serpent Eagle to Crested Hawk Eagle, From Oriental Honey Buzzard to Long Legged or Common Buzzard.
You may find here a variety of Owls from Indian Eagle Owl to Brown Fish Owl, From Dusky Eagle Owl to Mottled Wood Owl, from Indian Scops owl to Spotted Owlet even a Barn Owl can be seen at Ranthambhore.
Ask you guide how many verity of snakes are found in Ranthambhore, you'll find surprisingly that there are two verity of foxes in RTR one is a desert fox with white tail tip and second Indian fox with black tail tip.
Wolves and Hyenas also rule this landscape along with Tigers and Leopards. See the landscape and hills fort and old and historic Shikar Audhis and Ancient Fort Walls.
You'll find that Ranthambhore is way beyond Tigers.
Pic courtesy: Ansar Khan, A brown fish owl with snake kill from Ranthambhore.
