Indian Adventure 12

Simon from WILDFOOT enjoyed an Indian wildlife adventure this summer and documented his travels for you to peruse on the WILDFOOT blog. Today, Simon spots a tiger in the Ranthambore National Park.

Part 12

Very exciting morning as it is my first Tiger Safari across the Ranthambore National Park in search of a tiger. After a short time driving across the beautiful landscape, we spot a tiger just 30 metres away from our truck, giving me an excellent opportunity to take some photographs for my friends and family.

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The Ranthambore National Park covers approximately 400 square kilometres and offers 10 different safari routes. This is particularly useful for those who want to explore different aspects of the park, or who want to try their luck at spotting some of the wide variety of wildlife on offer.

The Forestry Commission highly protects the area, and one of its responsibilities is to ensure that routes take an equal amount of safaris using six-person jeeps and larger vehicles called canters, which carry around 18 persons.

WILDFOOT recommends that you take a jeep option over the canter options in every case. Although a jeep costs more, it offers increased opportunities for wildlife observations. WILDFOOT pre-books these excursions, so don’t for one minute expect to turn up and book on the day. Instead, make sure that you plan way in advance.

Due to the success of the immense tiger protection over the last few years and vertically zero poaching, there are now close to 65 tigers across the National Park, which is up from just 26 in 2007. The Park may sound like a large enough space at 400 square kilometres, but the territories are aggressively fought over by tigers, so jeep safaris are meticulously planned to avoid getting caught up in the action.

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Great success has brought a problem of sorts – a natural one of tiger territory. The tigers are pushing out because of territorial issues with each other into villages, farms and settlements, so it will be fascinating to see what happens in the coming years as tiger numbers continue to increase.

In his next update, Simon will discover more about the tigers and leopards that reside within the Ranthambore National Park. To find out more about taking part in your own Indian wildlife venture, don’t hesitate to contact the luxury travel agents at WILDFOOT today.