Ranthambore National Park

For many years the hunting preserve of the Maharajas of Jaipur, Ranthambore covers 98,800 acres. Its success as a park is largely due to the efforts of Fateh Singh Rathore, a member of the princely family of Jodhpur who was made Field Director here in 1972, the year tiger hunting was banned in India. His oversight increased the tiger population from 13 to 40. Poaching by the park's own rangers almost halved the population in the 1990s, but currently stands at about 30. The fifth year of drought has taken quite a toll on the animals and birds of Ranthambore National Park, so we didn't see any tiger, but there were a few compensations:




Oh, and the birds have learned to come to you for your breakfast biscuits...