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Linda and I got the notion that if Bill Clinton could see a tiger at Ranthambhore National Park it was worth an effort on our behalf. We arrived at Ranthambhore late on a Saturday afternoon - too late for a game drive in the park, but early enough to tour the fort, which is just outside the gate. The fort was quite interesting and some parts very photogenic, but this story is about tigers, not ancient architecture.

On Sunday morning we were awaken early and at the gate of the park when it opened. We sat in the back of a Maruti Gypsy, while our driver and guide sat up front. I must say that a Gypsy could be better outfitted for game drives if the seats in the back were set across the width rather than along the sides. With seats lengthwise, passengers have to crane their necks to see animals that appear behind them.

Discomfort aside, we drove the roads, crossed the streams and meadows and climbed the hills, stopping occasionally to photograph tiger footprints or scratch marks on tree trunks - indicative of territory marking. We investigated several common tiger haunts - usually a clearing near the riverbank - but still no tiger. But that doesn't mean that we weren't seeing things. Indeed not. There were all kinds of spotted dear, one wild boar, many species of antelope and lots of monkeys, not to mention the pretty scenery. 

An interesting phenomenon is that of the bonding between the spotted deer and colobus monkey. They travel together - the deer on the ground and the monkeys in the trees. The monkeys actually drop fruit for the deer to eat. When danger is eminent - usually a stalking tiger - one of the deer will raise the alarm with a bark. All of the monkeys will then stare at the tiger so that the whole group knows its whereabouts as being in the direction of the gaze. During our morning drive we encountered this cooperation and although we cast our binocular-enhanced eyeballs in the direction of the monkey-gaze we didn't see anything. Perhaps it was a false alarm, but our guide was convinced that there was a well-concealed tiger in the vicinity. When the animals went back to their regular routine, we departed.

We left the park after about three hours and spent the remainder of the day in relaxation and in investigating the curio shops in Sawai Madopur - the nearby village. At two thirty, we were back on the road toward the park entrance. In the darkness of the morning I had missed a sign that said, "Welcome Bill Clinton." He was there in March of 2000, and this was more than two years later. Perhaps they were expecting him again, this time without the aura. 

We entered at 3PM, with the drop-dead exit time being 6PM. A departure after 6PM would evoke a significant fine on the vehicle. Again, it was more of the same and I must admit that I was getting pretty skeptical. The guide sensed my mood and said something like, "We've been accused by some of creating the tiger signs on our own. Some think that we use a rake to scratch the tree trunks, or have a stick with a tiger paw on the end to make the footprints, but I assure you that this is not true. Everyone knows that Bill Clinton saw two tigers in one outing, and it was right here in Ranthambhore!" I wondered how he could read my mind with regard to the signs. We carried on.

THEN IT HAPPENED! We heard the bark of a spotted deer and the monkeys were all gazing at a point ahead of the vehicle. The driver slowed down to a creep as we rounded a bend in the road that descended to a bridge over a stream. And there she was - A FEMALE TIGER strolling down the grade in full view. She was much larger than I had expected, and simply beautiful! The driver turned off the engine and we coasted down the grade at a distance of only five metres behind her. She left the road, and visited the stream below the bridge. We stopped the vehicle on the bridge, which gave us a prefect vantage point. She drank some water from the brook, slowly strolled into the heavy brush and was gone. I must have snapped off twenty photos in three minutes, which is all the time she allowed. I can't describe the excitement of my first (and only to date) tiger sighting, except that my heart pumped at a mile a minute and my eyes actually welled up. It made the whole weekend worthwhile and I'll never (I mean NEVER!) forget the experience.

We got back to the gate at 5:58PM with only two minutes to spare. While our guide was reporting the sighting to park officials, we spoke to some Canadian tourists who had also just exited. They told us that it was their second excursion in the park on that particular weekend (like ours) and on both occasions they had spotted a tiger. So tigers do exist in Ranthambhore National Park. Had I not seen one with my own eyes there would still remain some skepticism. All that is required is seems is patience and a little luck. If it is true that 'power attracts power' perhaps the aura of a president may also be useful. Joking aside, we highly recommend the destination.

All photos by Author