Almost every wildlife lover in India would at some point of time have heard about Machli aka T-16 the queen of Ranthambhore. She is said to have contributed immensely to tiger conservation in India. She created a gene pool of about 50 tigers in Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve. She is also widely regarded as the most photographed or most famous tiger in the world. She was a fierce tiger who held on to arguably the most picturesque territory of Ranthambhore, the Rajbagh, Padam and Malik lake area. She had often fought off bigger male tigers too protect her cubs. She once wrestled a 14ft long crocodile on the banks of one of the lakes. Such acts are just a small part of what made her a legend. Ask any guide of Ranthambhore about Machli and you'll hear the line, "her personality was different" or "uski baat hi kuch aur thi".
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| By Bhavik Thaker - https://www.flickr.com/photos/24592211@N05/7313557652/ |
I've never had a chance to see her even though I had been to Ranthambhore when she was alive. But documentaries and guides all continue to echo the same traits. She was extremely tourist friendly and wouldn't get flustered with the hordes of gypsies around her. She was seen regularly in the lake area and people who visited Ranthambhore were almost always sure to meet her. Most tigers are known to be sedentary during the afternoon since it's quite hot that time. Machli on the other hand would move during those afternoon hours too. She was just in her element and that made the world her fan. People who saw her often said that they forged a bond with her.
I visited Ranthambhore in 2021 after a long gap of almost 5 years. In the build-up, I'd heard stories and seen videos about the power struggles for the crown jewel of Ranthambhore, the lake area which was ruled by Machli. The power struggles involved fights between Arrowhead and her two daughters, Riddhi and Siddhi. The mother had been displaced and was far from the lake area. When we were on our first safari, our guide told us how bloody these fights had been. He said that Siddhi has a cut on her right ear and Riddhi on her left ear. Also, Riddhi had once so badly injured her tongue in a fight that the forest officials had to give her surgical stitches.
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| Siddhi at Malik lake |
The first two safaris got us a sight of Arrowhead and Siddhi, the latter on the banks of the disputed Malik lake. A road bisects Malik lake into two sections. One is bigger than the other and dotted with a lot of dry tree trunks in the middle of the water. The other is smaller and has lesser water, with tall grass on its banks. We saw Siddhi on the bigger part of the lake she was stalking sambar deer for an evening snack.
Love at first sight
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| First sight of Riddhi |
On the third safari, we were exploring zone 4 when we heard a solitary spotted deer alarm call from near the lake. Knowing that tigers are generally on the move at that time, we rushed to the area and happened to see a lovely full grown tiger on the smaller, drier section of the lake. She walked up onto the road and straight towards us. We had an unbelievable one on one session with her for almost 10 minutes before other vehicles reached the scene. It was so awesome!! Her wonderful eyes were twinkling in the 7am sunlight. She was relaxed while strolling and marking her scent on trees. She was patrolling the borders and marking them as well. She walked, yawned(showing us her battle scarred tongue) and went about her own business. After a while when a lot of vehicles had made it to the area where she was, she took a break and decided to take a nap. We couldn't have asked for more in terms of a tiger experience.
A second tryst with Riddhi
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| Riddhi surveying her kingdom |
Turning the clock forward to Feb 2022, I planned a trip to Ranthambhore with my family to make them experience the beauty of this legendary tiger reserve. On our first safari guess whom we met. It was Riddhi on a morning stroll. Her distinctive trident patterns over her eyes and the triangle on her right cheek are dead giveaways of her identity. She traversed a wide open expanse, marked her territory, crossed the trail and then saw some deer. She paused for a while and judged that they were too far. She realised that the odds were stacked against her and then decided to take a little cat nap. Her slumber was disturbed by some peafowl. The result was her showing her displeasure by roaring! It was the first time ever that I heard a tiger roaring. What an experience it was! I was so glad that even my folks got to experience the regal beauty of this wonderful tigress.
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| Riddhi on an afternoon stroll |
In the afternoon, we headed back towards the area where we had left her last. On hearing some langurs give an alarm call, we rushed straight there and out of the tall green grass emerged Riddhi!!! This time she wore a serious, angry expression on her face and seemed to be walking with a purpose. This was at 3:15pm, a time when most tigers take a siesta. She again walked past us and followed the path which would have led her to Malik lake. Our guides told us that this trait of Machli of being on the move at all times had come down to Krishna(T-19), then Arrowhead (T-84) and now Riddhi(T-124). This boldness of such tigers is what makes these National parks so popular and a favourite destination for wildlife lovers from across the world.
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| Riddhi baring her teeth |
The next time we saw Riddhi was the following afternoon where she was seated on edge of the road dividing Malik lake, surveying the lake and perhaps scouting for lunch. Our guide confirmed that she hadn't made a kill for 3-4 days and she was hungry. After a while, she yawned, stood and walked straight down into the lake. She was literally touching distance from one of the gypsies as she headed towards the lake. Most of the vehicles went along the road in the direction where she was headed, hoping to see her come out from there. We waited right there, getting a grandstand view of Riddhi, the apex predator queen of the lake in action.
The climax
There was a sense of excitement as we saw her go through the tall grass, carefully staying out of view of the sambar deer and surreptitiously creeping up within striking distance. Being an ambush hunter sure needs patience. She waited for the deer to get closer. We too waited and watched with bated breath. The minutes kept ticking by.
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| The chase continues |
After about 15 minutes, she pulled the trigger. She charged towards her nearest quarry in the water and all hell broke loose. The sambar deer started the alarm calls. Despite the distance, we could see Riddhi's muscles push her towards her meal. Her 100kg frame was splashing water with every step. The sounds of the alarm calls and the water splashing drowned everything else. The deer could move in any direction but seeing death coming towards them got them running helter skelter. I had my camera going up and down just to watch the sights unfolding through the viewfinder and through naked eyes. Riddhi was putting in 100% efforts. She got close to one deer who got away, then close to another. Riddhi was looking to cut off angles while the deer were looking to get to solid ground and hopefully escape. In this game of big cat and deer, finally all the deer managed to get away with their lives. Till the last one managed to flee, Riddhi tried her best. Hungry, tired and wet, she walked into the grass near us and took a nap to recharge her batteries
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| The calm after the storm |
The three gypsies who had waited had the best view of the entire scene. Our hearts were in our mouths, marvelling at the beauty of nature's creations playing the game of Life and death. The tiger despite being the most amazing predator, fails in 9 out of 10 attempts. We were a little disappointed for Riddhi but were reminded of how beautifully nature balances things out. The sambar deer who survived were the fittest of the lot and were able to stay away from her grasp. We felt assured that she will make a kill soon enough and stay energized to rule her Kingdom!
Just as our time for the evening safari was coming to a close, we heard some sambar deer alarm calls again. That's when we realised that Riddhi had sneaked up without us noticing that she'd woken up and moved through the tall grass. Knowing that the hunt won't be possible, she walked towards us for one last photo op for the trip. It was as though she came towards us to say see you soon/ Au revoir/auf wiedersehen/phir milenge.
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| My most viewed and downloaded photo of Riddhi |
The beauty of all these experiences with Riddhi at RTR are bound to keep me going back from time to time to say a casual hello
