Ranthambore National Park in Sawai Madhopur District

Latest about Ranthambore National Park
Ranthambore National Park will close from 01st July till 30th Sep' 06. due to Rainy season in India. Ranthambore National Park will reopen from 01st of Oct'06 for visitors.

About Ranthambore National Park
Ranthambore National Park is in Sawai Madhopur District of Rajasthan state.Located at the junction of the Aravalli and Vindhya hill range, this is one of the finest places to view animals, especially as they are used to being stared at here.The park covers an area of Approximately 400 sq Km and if combined it with the area of sawai man singh sanctuary area,it is around 500 Sq km.

Ranthambore national park was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1957 and in 1974 it gained the protection of "Project Tiger". It got it's status of a National Park in 1981.

Ranthambore National Park is dotted with structures that remind you of bygone eras.There are many water bodies located all over the park, which provide perfect relief during the extremely hot summer months for the forest inhabitants. A huge fort, after which the park is named, towers over the park atop a hill. There are many ruins of bygone eras scattered all over the jungle, which give it a unique, wonderful and mixed flavour of nature, history and wildlife.Tigers at Ranthambore National park have been known to even hunt in full view of human visitors. These tigers are famous for being seen in the daytime too, due to their lack of fear of human presence in vehicles. This lack of fear of humans is excellent for tourists, as they get to see the tigers often.

This National park is a wildlife enthusiast and photographer's dream. It offers excellent accommodation and internal transportation facilities. The park remains open every year from October to May.Famous for the exciting and frequent tiger sightings captured dramatically in several books, this park is today affected by ecological pressures and poaching.

In Nutshell, Ranthambore National park is a wildlife enthusiast and photographer's dream. It offers excellent accommodation and internal transportation facilities and remains open every year from October to Mid June.

Wild Animals In Ranthambore National Park
Ranthambore National park contains a huge variety of animals, birds and reptiles within it. Primarlily the population consists of...

Animals: Tigers, Leopards, Striped Hyenas, Sambar deer, Chital, Nilgai, Common or Hanuman langurs, Macaques, Jackals, Jungle cats, Caracals, Sloth bears, Black bucks, Rufoustailed Hare, Indian Wild Boar, Chinkara, Common Palm Civets or Toddy cat, Coomon Yellow Bats, Desert Cats, Fivestriped Palm Squirels, Indian False Vampires, Indian Flying Foxes, Indian Foxes, Indian Gerbilles, Indian Mole Rats, Indian Porcupines, Longeared Hedgehogs, Ratels, Small Indian Mongoose, Small Indian Civets and Common mongoose.

The amphibian species only consist of the Common India Toad and the Common Frog.

The park is most famous for it's diurnal tigers.

The park also has a large number of marsh crocs Reptiles: Snub Nosed Marsh Crocodiles, Desert Monitor Lizards, Tortoise, Banded Kraits, Cobras, Common Kraits, Ganga Soft Shelled Turtles, Indian Pythons, North Indian Flap Shelled Turtles, Rat Snakes, Russel's Vipers, Saw-scaled Vipers and the Indian Chamaeleon.

Flora In Ranthambore National Park
The vegetation in the park is mostly of the dry deciduous type with a large variety consisting of nearly 300 species. The majority of the tree cover is however mainly made up of :

1. Am (Magnifera iIndica)
2. Imli (Tamarindicus indica)
3. Babul (Accasia nilotica)
4. Banyan (Ficus benghalensis)
5. Ber (Zizyphus mauritania)
6. Dhak or Chila (flame of the forest){Butea monosperma}
7. Dhok (Anogeossis pendula)
8. Jamun (Syzygium cumini)
9. Kadam (Authocephalus cadamba)
10. Khajur (Phoenix sylvestris)
11. Khair (Accacia catechu)

The forests of Ranthambore have a lot of contrasting vegetation
12. Karel (Capparis decidua)
13. Khejda (Prosopis specigera)
14. Kakera (Flacourtia indica)
15. Mohua (Madhuca indica)
16. Neem (Azadirachta indica)

Dhok forms a majority of the tree cover

LOCATION
Nearest Town- Sawai Madhopur, situated on the Delhi-Bombay railway-line and also linked with Jaipur and Agra by rails.

Near by Airports - Jaipur and Kota

Distance by rail: Delhi - 362 km, Agra - 227 km, Bombay 1027 km, Kota - 108 km, Jaipur - 132 km

Distance by road: Delhi - 480 km (via Dausa), Jaipur - 180 km (via Tonk)

Visit

Reviving Ranthambore
Which is the most famous animal specie in India? Few would think twice in naming Tiger. Which is the most famous habitat for Tiger? Few may argue, but considering the de facto VVIP status accorded to it, many would settle down for Ranthambore

How to revamp an institution, whose geographical centre of work & the object of work itself need revitalizing? Ranthambore Foundation, founded by Valmik Thapar faces this challenge. The Tiger, the Reserve & the Foundation all need special strategies

One way to meet the challenge is bringing the conservationist experts together. Four members of restructured Executive Board of the Foundation hold cumulative experience of more than hundred years. Executive Director PK Sen, Chairman Bharat Kapoor & Raghunandan Chundavat & Toby Sinclair hold enormous experience.

What would be the role of Valmik Thapar? A dissenting member at Tiger Task Force, he is currently engaged with other tiger related assignments of states. Though a member of Executive Board, he plays a limited role here

And the strategy? Mr Sen says Foundation is lying dormant for past 3 years. It's been known for bringing credible conservationist together. First task is to resume Tiger Link magazine, a landmark conservation magazine. Its first issue is targeted by March 2007. Next, the Foundation seeks to influence government in designing policies & implementing programs. It eyes all the tiger habitats in country but places specific attention to Ranthambore

The immediate task in Ranthambore is to revive vocational training, enhance education awareness program & direct interaction with villagers & train women in & around Sawai Madhopur district, seat of The Reserve. Vocational training! How does it help in tiger conservation?

Enter the Poacher

Most forest dwellers are dependent on agriculture, which is limited to 6-7 months due to poor irrigation & other inputs. During lean season, villagers are forced to either migrate to cities or seek other options of livelihood. Precisely here, enter the poachers, thriving on livelihood insecurity of forest dwellers. Most of the villagers who assisted poachers in Sariska were economically deprived ones. Empirical evidences suggest better employment opportunities at local level have reduced poaching of wild life. Vocational training has been part of conservation strategy across the world.

In Madhya Pradesh, poaching reduced when forest dwellers were taught in bee keeping, an alternative mode of employment.

Ranthambore Art

Initiated & patronized by Ranthambore Foundation, it became source of livelihood for forest dwellers. This art is now lying dormant but its painters have fetched bountiful revenue for their paintings & even exhibited in London. The Foundation seeks to revive this art as a means of conservation.

Bumpy terrain

Multiple, challenges await the Foundation. Ranthambore, once glory amongst tiger reserves lie in tatters today. Newly constituted Tiger Conservation Authority has little tiger expertise amongst its 27 members. How The Foundation can influence the government who is reportedly not passionate about conservation would be interesting to watch. Particularly when, contentions of the Foundation are challenged by another group of conservationists. Seasoned conservationists of Foundation propose inviolable status to Wild Life Protection Act & Forest Conservation Act. Mr Sen refutes claims of human tiger co existence & demand relocation of villages from core areas.

However, Sunita Narain, chairperson, Tiger Task Force calls for radical shift in conservation policies, which she maintains is highly hostile at present. She calls for an inclusive agenda of tiger conservation. TTF report mentions of mere 800 families relocated since Project Tiger was launched

The Foundaiton may retort that TTF does not calculate that most of these families were shifted only during 6 years, from 1995-2001 when Sen was Director, Project Tiger. Before 1995, very few families were shifted & after 2001 not a single relocation is witnessed. It is lack of administrative will & not funds or land which constrains relocation

Watch out for an interesting battle for tigers between tigers without teeth, claws & pug marks.

Readers are welcome to send their views to Rohini@IndianNGOs.com