Mighty Males -Part 2

Continuing our story on the Mighty Males of Indian forest we present two actors who still rule their respective areas- Fateh (T42) from Ranthambore and Bajrang (T49) from Tadoba.

For a change , we do not want to write long stories about these majestic rulers but would leave you with some facts , pictures and video links to see, feel and understand about them.

Fateh

Fateh is named after the famous Fateh Singh Ranthore , the great tiger conservationist who revived Ranthambore during the early years of Project Tiger. Fateh’s greatness also lies in the fact that he inherited the genes of Machli (do I need to tell you who she is)- born to  Jail Kho female (T30) and the famous Jhumroo (son of Machli) . After he separated from the mother, he found his way to Kuwalji – the southernmost tip of the Ranthambhore Tiger reserve. Here he challenged and killed the resident elder male T36 (first signs of aggression). He mated probably with T37 but lost his partner shortly.

Fateh is infamous for charging vehicles – something that Charger did in Bandhavgarh. Don’t believe us – please see the video here posted by tourists on Youtube. You can hear the screams !!

Luckily when we saw Fateh, he had mellowed down to some extent (though people have seen him hunting down cows near villages). He was sleeping and then he got up . His yawns revealed those canines to send shivers down our spines -don’t know why but everytime we see a tiger opening his mouth that is bound to happen 🙂 ..after spending hours (we were with him for more than 2 hours at stretch ) relaxing under the shade, the handsome Fateh disappeared in the bushes to meet his partner (we heard calls from a tigress as the guide informed us). Mating session was missed but seeing an aggressive male so close and that too for two hours would definitely qualify as one of the memorable sightings we have had in the Indian forests so far!!

Picture: Suddhasattwa Das

Bajrang

Ever wondered what can be the size of a full grown tiger? Well you may see the video here as he emerges from the grasslands near Telia lake in Tadoba.

Video credit : Suddhasattwa Das

So what do you think? It is huge right ? We were overwhelmed by his gait when we saw him cross the road . He glanced once at us -that look said it all 🙂 That’s Bajrang for you -the hulk from Tadoba.

Bajrang has carried on the legacy of great male tigers of Tadoba- Wagdoh , Gabbar, Yeda Anna in terms of valour and dominance. In fact we feel he has surpassed them when we know that he commands 8 tigresses at present starting with great Telia sister Sonam!!!! * Has any tiger commanded such a large area so many tigresses under him? Probably not.

Thanks to him, Tadoba is well poised to see the new generation of tigers coming up safe and healthy -Jai Bajrang Bali !!!!

-Suddhasattwa Das and Niladri Kundu.

Sincere thanks to Sanjeev Siva (Wildlife photographer) for sharing Bajrang’s information on current territory.