After all the fun and frolic with her cubs, it was time for business. Krishna set off from the beautiful water front towards the hilly terrains of the jungle. As she crossed our gypsy she gave us that 'do not mess with me' look and moved quiet rapidly towards the thorny slopes while her cubs began venturing further off from the mother.
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| KRISHNA WALKS TOWARDS OUR GYPSY |
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| SHE WADES THROUGH THE LAKE FRONT |
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| BEGINS HER ONWARD CLIMB OF THE HILLY TERRAIN |
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| BUT DECIDES TO GIVE US THAT KILLER LOOK |
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| SIZING US UP WHILE SHE MAKES HER WAY TO THE HILLS |
As Krishna kept climbing she let out some low growls at short intervals following which her cubs would either respond to her by a growl back or ensure that they got into her range of eyesight, perhaps smell!
When she came closer to her resting point she let out quiet a panic in the otherwise sonorous wild. There was a stage when we could see her climbing one part of the hill and as she did that the barking deer let out an alert on the other side of the hill following which there was a trail of dust let loose by the escaping deer herd. Witnessing such commotion of the wild was indeed an experience we had never had...
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| APPROACHING THE SIDE WHERE THE DEER PEACEFULLY GRAZE GREEN GRASS |
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| CHAOTIC RUN TOWARDS SAFER TERRAINS |
We trailed her through winding roads and thanks to the precision of our guide were positioned at vintage points to the tigress. She found herself a cool shade to retire for the next hour while she gazed intently at the herd of deer at a distance. Patiently we stayed with her watching all her moves while the Tiger Toothpick bird kept entertaining us with her funny moves.
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| KRISHNA OBSERVING A HEARD OF DEER FROM HER RESTING ZONE |
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| THE ATTENTIVE DEER CONTINUE TO GRAZE WITH SOME OCCASIONAL CAUTIOUS LOOKS |
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| KRISHNA DOZES OFF FOR A BIT |
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| SHE WAKES UP & LETS OUT A CALL TO HER CUBS |
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| FUNNY MR. TIGER TOOTHPICK SCHEMING SOME MOVES |
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| GIVES A GAZE TO THE RESTING TIGER |
Mid-way through we needed to break the monotony and decided to explore the area's surrounding the lake to look out for her cubs. At this stage we discovered the incredible ruins and a couple of her cubs resting and playing midst the thorny shade.
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| ONE OF THE CUBS CONTINUES TO EXPLORE THE ZONE AT A CAUTIOUS DISTANCE FROM THE MOTHER |
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| ONE MORE OF THE CUBS LAZES UNDER THE SHADE |
When we returned towards Krishna we realised that she was up again and moving towards the Rajbaugh ruins. We quickly maneuvered our vehicle towards the picturesque Rajbaugh just in time to see the beast cross over from the thorns to the water. She seemed to give us a knowing look as she made her majestic walk towards the water body.
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| THE INVITING RAJBAUGH RUINS |
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| KRISHNA MEASURES THE DISTANCE |
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| SHE LOOKS READY TO TAKE THE WALK |
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| GIVES US THAT FAMILIAR LOOK |
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| BEGINS HER WALK TOWARDS THE WATER BODY |
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| DOWNWARD CLIMB, THE LAST TIME WE SEE HER SO UP CLOSE! |
The sight we captured was simply beyond breath-taking. My dream of watching the tiger amidst the ruins and its jharoka was somewhere coming true. She tactfully waded the water body and crossed over to the other side. She waited at the water edge for a few minutes, gave us a gaze back from the distance and slowly disappeared towards the direction of the ruin.
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| KRISHNA CROSSING THE WATER TO GET TO THE RUIN |
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| TOURISTS FROM VARIOUS ANGLES GETTING A CLOSER LOOK AT THE BEAST. |
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| THE FINAL LAP AS SHE FINALLY DISAPPEARS INTO THE TALL WILD GRASS |
As luck would have it, we were at a distance from this beautiful structure and given that I had a basic lens was unable to capture the majestic view of the tigress in her fortress. However, at this stage I just kept my camera aside and enjoyed the show to my fullest desire.
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| GREEN PARROT AMIDST THE BEAUTIFUL JUNGLE TERRAIN |
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| A BIRD MAKERS HER FLIGHT OVER THE LAKE. |
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| FROM THE DUCK FAMILY, I FORGET HER NAME! |
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| LANGOORS COOLING OFF AT A DISTANCE |
Heading back to the hotel, obviously enamored by the show we witnessed, was a reluctant return. All through the drive our Naturalist & Driver just wouldn't stop boasting of our day to every other passing fellow gypsy. Watching the 2 men beaming only reassured us that the tigress and her cubs had indeed been kind by letting us in to their moments, quiet graciously to that!
Frankly, I fell in love with the beast once more. They are truly the 'King of the jungle'! :D
Until the next story, signing off...
To read on the entire #Ranthambore trails, follow through these links:
Xoxo,
Sensuous2Spiritual
