Ranthambor .... 1

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Bandhavgarh National Park .......... 2

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Bandhavgarh National Park

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Ranthambhor National Park .............. Part 3

 
Common species of Ranthambhore and their preferred habitat:

1. Tiger - Dense cover in the valleys and riverside areas

2. Leopard - Dense cover in the higher slopes and forest edge

3. Jungle Cat - Scrub and grasslands and undergrowth in valleys

4. Caracal - Streams, Open scrub and grasslands

5. Rusty Spotted cat - Thorny trees, scrubland and cultivated areas

6. Sambar deer - Thick cover in valleys, gentle slopes and dangs

7. Chital or Spotted deer - Open spaces and riverine areas in forests

8. Nilgai or Antelope - Open dry scrub land, grasslands and forest edge

9. Chinkara or gazelle - Open scrub and grasslands in hilly areas

10. Wild Boar - Open spaces and riverine areas in forests

11. Sloth Bear - Dense riverine areas, khos and rocky areas

12. Jackal - Open scrub and forest edges

13. Hyena - Dense cover along streams, khos & riverine areas

14. Indian Palm Civet - Large trees and undergrowth in moist areas

15. Common Mongoose - Dense cover in moist areas and forest edges

16. Ruddy Mongoose - Dense cover in moist areas and forest edges

17. Indian Porcupine - Dense cover in riverine areas and rocky hillsides

18. Indian Hare - Open scrub and grasslands

19. Indian Flying Fox - Large trees in moist, low lying areas

20. Marsh Crocodile - Wetlands

21. Bengal Monitor Lizard - Dense undergrowth, large trees and rocky areas

22. Indian Rock Python - Dense undergrowth in valleys and rocky areas

23. Saw-scaled Viper - Open scrub and sandy soil

24. Indian Rat Snake - Dense undergrowth and cultivated areas

25. Indian Bull Frog - Wetlands

26. Skittering Frog - Wetlands

27. Common Indian Toad - Cool, moist and dark areas

 

Ranthambhore National Park lies in the Sawai Madhopur district of the North Indian state of Rajasthan. The park is contiguous with the Sawai Madhopur town, and Misradhara gate, from where tourists enter the Park, is about 12 km from the heart of the town. Ranthambhore is the only Project Tiger Reserve that is right next to a large town. The twin towns of Old City and Man town together constitute Sawai Madhopur. The railway station and the main market – Bajariya – are located in Man town. The older City lies 4 km away, in a valley surrounded by cliffs and steep slopes.
Gypsys are more personal, more expensive and less noisy, but both Canters and Gypsys travel on the same tracks. Both offer the same opportunity for wildlife viewing. Generally speaking, Gypsys are better for smaller groups (4-6 persons) and for special interest visitors, such as photographers, birders etc. For larger groups (10 to 20 persons) Canters are actually better than taking 2-3 Gypsys because everyone in the group goes through similar experiences.
Mornings safari are better during summers and evenings safari are better in the winters. The best wildlife viewing occurs when the sun is not strong - early mornings or late evenings.
Timings - Morning wildlife safari - 6.00 to 10.00 am & Evening wildlife safari - 2.30 to 6.30 pm, the timings may vary by 1/2 hr, as they are based on the sunrise & sunset time.
The park is open to tourists from the 1st of October to the 30th of June. Most of the tourists visit the park between November and March, mainly because the summers heat is unbearable. The period between November and February is excellent for wildlife viewing, particularly for bird watching. A lot of migratory birds visit the park during the winter months. During the summer months (April to June), when the temperature soars over 40 degrees Centigrade during the day, sighting tigers is relatively easier than it is in winters.

DO'S AND DONT'S FOR VISITORS TO THE RANTHAMBORE NATIONAL PARK

Do’s:Maintain silence inside the Park. Take care of your children. Dress comfortably and soberly. Maintain a safe distance from the animals. Follow the instructions given by Forest Officials.

Don’t’s:Litter Swim or fish. Disturb the animals. Play music or make noise. Use spotlight, flash etc. Smoke, light a fire nor cook. Take pets inside the park. Carry weapons, explosives not toxic chemicals. Over speed, overtake nor honk inside the park. Get off the vehicle, except at specified places. Deviate from the allotted route. Crowd more than two vehicles at a spot. Overstay beyond the scheduled timings. Enter the park without proper entry permits. Encourage your driver to stay parked at one place. The entire park is exotic and tigers are found all over the park.

Ranthambhore has over 330 species of birds and we are still counting. For birders, Ranthambhore’s specialties are the Indian courser, Painted spurfowl, Indian skimmer, quails, larks, pipits and prinias.
Ranthambhore is dotted with ancient ruins, some which date back to over 1000 years ago. Some of the most prominent of these are the Ranthambhore and Khandar fort, the ancient temples at Rameshwaram ghat, the old tantric temple of Kalaji Goraji and even the old city of Sawai Madhopur. A visit to the local villages, which offers an insight into the life of the rural folks, can be very interesting.

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Ranthambhor National Park ......... Part 2

 

In 2003 and 2004, disaster struck Ranthambhore's tigers once again. A census conducted by the Rajasthan State Empowered committee showed that there were only 26 tigers in entire reserve and all of them were within the national park. The other areas of the reserve were totally devoid of tigers. In 2005, the Rajasthan and the Indian central government set up high powered committees to look into the state of Ranthambhore and to suggest measures to improve the situation.There have been no reports of tiger poaching from around Ranthambore from the beginning of 2005 and a large number of tiger cubs were born between the summer of 2005 and the summer of 2006. A very detailed census that was carried out by the Wildlife Institute of India using camera traps between 2006 and 2007 showed that there were 31 tigers in Ranthambhore national park.

The areas surrounding the Tiger reserve have been totally deforested and as a result, the Ranthambore tiger reserve is now an "ecological island surrounded by farmlands and overgrazed pastures." It is is home to over 40 species of mammals, 320 species of birds, over 40 species of reptiles and over 300 species of plants. the Indian or the Bengal Tiger is the flagship species of Rantambhore and right now it is the only place in Rajasthan where tigers exist.

The terrain of Ranthambhore tiger reserve is mostly rugged and hilly and is intimately related to the Great boundary fault. The hills to the northwest of fault-line are the Aravalis and typically have ridges on one side and gentle slope on the other. The hills south west of Great boundary fault are the Vindhyas. The sand stone beds of these hills are flat-topped and form extensive table lands known as "Dangs". These dangs rise abruptly from flat ground and have sandstone ridges running continuously along their edges.

The Ranthambhore tiger reserve, with its sub-tropical dry climate, has three very well defined seasons - summers, winters and monsoons. October and March are the time when the weather changes from monsoons to winters and from winters to summers, respectively. Summers start during the end of March and last through the months of April, May and June. During this season the days are very hot and dry. During May and June the maximum day temperature crosses 40 degrees Centigrade and the minimum night temperature still hovers around 30 degrees Centigrade. The monsoons or the rainy season lasts from July to September. The winter season lasts from November to February.

Besides tigers, the other wild cats found in Ranthambhore tiger reserve are Leopards, Caracals, Jungle cats, Rusty Spotted cats. Fishing Cats and Leopard cats have also been reported but their sightings are yet to be verified. The ungulates include Sambhar, Spotted deer (Chital), Blue bull (Nilgai), Chinkara (Indian gazelle) and Wild boar. The other large mammals that can be seen in Ranthambore tiger reserve are the Sloth bear, Indian fox, Jackal, the extremely occasional Wolf, very few Indian wild dogs (Dhole), Small Indian Civet, Palm civet, Common Indian and Ruddy mongoose and Striped Hyena.

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Ranthambhore National Park ............ Part 1

RANTHAMBHORE

Ranthambore is considered as one of the best national parks in the world. Here you can see very famous Bengal tigers, many other wild animals and birds

The Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve lies in Rajasthan's eastern districts of Sawai Madhopur and Karauli. Chambal river lies on the eastern side of the tiger reserve, at a distance of a few kilometers and the river Banas flows through the reserve. Even though most of the Ranthambhore tiger reserve is open to visitors, most visitors visit only the Ranthambore national park. This is because the national park is the best tiger habitat in the entire Project Tiger reserve and has some fantastic wildlife viewing to offer. All the tiger safaris in Ranthambore are conducted in the national park because this is the only part of the entire Project Tiger reserve that has a healthy and visible population of wild tigers. The other parts of the reserve are not very rich in wildlife, definitely not as rich as the Ranthambore national park.

During the 19th century there was excellent forest cover almost all over India. The population density was very low and exploitation of forests to fulfill local needs was negligible. During that period the forests of Ranthambhore were the private and exclusive hunting reserves of the Jaipur and Karauli royal family.

By the end of the first quarter of the 20th century, the need for conservation of forests and wildlife was being felt all over India. The population was growing rapidly and the forests were coming under pressure. The Rajasthan forest Act. was enacted in 1953, giving these forests some legal protection. In 1955, these forests were declared as "Sawai Madhopur sanctuary" and the practice of sale of forest produce through "royalty permits" came to an end. This was when the forests of Ranthambore received their first "real" protection. However, legal hunting continued unabated till 1973 and by then the tiger population was almost totally decimated.

In 1973 a part of this Sawai Madhopur sanctuary came under Project tiger scheme. At that time there were 16 villages inside the sanctuary but between 1976 and 1979, 12 of these villages were shifted outside the sanctuary. In 1980, in order to give greater protection to the forests, an area of 282.03 sq. k.m. of the inner part of Sawai Madhopur sanctuary was declared as national park. Since then the state Government stopped collection of any forest produce from sanctuary and national parks. During the 1970s, tiger sightings were extremely rare in Ranthambhore but by the mid and late 1980s, as a result of the decade long protection given to the forests, Ranthambhore became the best place in the world to see wild tigers. Ranthambhore tiger reserve attained notoriety for illegal poaching of tigers in the year 1992. Since then the forest authorities became very strict and now, generally speaking, poaching is not a serious threat in these forests. Since 1992, the tiger population has gradually recovered and in 2002 the Park boasted of nearly 40 tigers, a density of nearly 10 tigers per 100 square k.m. - which is one of the highest in the world.

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