We would like you to meet Noori, our favorite tigress in Ranthambore National Park. Noori, a female Hindu name, means shining, brightness, the dearest and talented messenger of the god. Our Noori was born in 2016 and she is an empty nester; her 3 cubs have recently left looking for a territory of their own in the greater Ranthambore National Park.
The Ranthambore park is separated into 10 zones, that scheme allows for better administration of the resources there, for example only 5 jeeps are allowed in each zone during morning or afternoon safari, so as to over stress the tigers, management can identify which tigers tend to remain in a specific zone, entry and exit of safari jeeps are checked at each zoned gateway.
The foundations for the Ranthambore fort were laid in 944 AD. The fort and the surrounding forests were royal hunting grounds. In 1966 the fort and forests were handed over to the government of India. A wildlife survey showed a dramatically
low population of tigers, India’s national animal. President Indira Ghandhi started Project Tiger in 1973, Ranthambore then became an area for tiger conservation. It is 1,334 km in size and Noori is one of 70+ adult diurnal (active during the day) bengal tigers and approximately 20 cubs. Cubs stay with their mother for up to 3 years.
We saw Noori near the fort in zone 2, our guide. . . so accurate, predicting nearly every movement the tigress would make . . . If the tiger would cross the road, or come back on a different pathway. When other vehicles left in search of new sightings, our guide hung back, somehow knowing that Noori would emerge from her under her tree, and sure enough, we were the first vehicle when she wandered onto the ridge.
