How do you find Tigers in the Indian Parks?

Seven years ago, I went excitedly to the Corbett Park in India with every expectation of coming across at least one tiger during my stay there for three days. I came back disappointed for I saw none. There were pugmarks at some places or were they? Forget Corbett! There have been similar people like me coming back disillusioned from many a national park in India without sighting a tiger. The tiger tales of Corbett have remained just legends and nothing more than that. The poachers have left nothing much for the coming generations. The actual number of tigers is falling rapidly in India. One of my friends has recently sighted a tiger in Nagzira and the Koka Forest. Elsewhere in Ranthambore, big cats were sighted in Rajasthan. Was I plain unlucky or the others are smarter than me? India has always been famous for the Taj Mahal and the Bengal Tiger. The Taj Mahal is easy enough but the Bengal Tiger is pretty elusive. Sooner than you expect, this magnificent tiger will probably disappear from the face of the planet Earth. In the world, there are not more than three thousand tigers left. This may be hard to believe but it is true. At the beginning of the twentieth century, there were almost one hundred thousand tigers in India. Do you want to know what that figure has come down to as of the present? It is one thousand seven hundred and six tigers left as per the 2011 tiger census. The bloody British/Nawab/Rajah hunting expeditions, the evil poachers and the encroachment of people into the animal habitats have collectively taken their toll on this now rare species in India. Who is going to do anything about this and will it be done fast? High hopes. The coming generations in India will only be able to see tigers in tiger tale books and this animal will join the myth and folklore species. Coming to grips with the current situation, if you are planning a vacation to look out for tigers, perhaps Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan may be the place to go for. You may be able to catch a face to face situation with the about-to-be-extinct big cats. Will any poacher or any Wildlife Preservation Organizations raise up their arms to answer ‘Yes’ for the tiger being declared as an endangered animal in India? In the pre-independence era, tiger hunts were considered fashionable with the British officers and the elite of the Indian society. They perhaps still are with the Bollywood eunuchs. These hunts provided entertainment for the Maharajas. Even after independence, hunts were organized when the Royalty visited. Do you believe that? One specific extravagant hunt was organized in 1961 by Maharani Gayatri Devi for Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip when the royal couple visited Jaipur. It took twenty five years for an independent nation to initiate a nationwide ban on tiger hunting. The Wildlife Protection Act came into being in 1972. It became illegal to hunt tigers or take ownership of their body parts. The Tiger Task Force was set up in 1973 and, at first; nine forests were declared as tiger reserves. Nowadays, families do not need to play rough to view the tigers as there are several resorts and hotels that have come up as a result of the tiger tourism awareness. Vanyavilas which has been developed by the Oberoi group is about one hundred and eighty kilometers from Jaipur. It was the hunting lodge of the Maharaja of Jaipur and it means `forest resort’. It has been included in Travel and Leisure’s listing of the top hundred hotels in the world. Vanyavilas is a good foil for a decent jungle safari. The guests can stay in luxury tents in this huge resort which is surrounded by landscaped gardens. The guests get to sleep in the tents. They will get to see not only the tiger if they are lucky but about over two hundred species of birds that include the crested honey buzzard, serpent eagle and the Pariah Kite. Visitors have to remember that the Forest Department which is responsible for the conservation of wildlife has put a limit on the number of people touring the Ranthambore National Park on a daily basis. The place which brought back my belief that tigers do exist and can be spotted in India was Tadoba Reserve near Nagpur in Maharashtra. I have seen five tigers spread across four days in a span of two successive years which involved two visits to the park. Tiger sightings have been quite frequent during the months of May and June when they come to the lakes to cool themselves down. So, before it becomes too late, see the tiger for real before the hunters, poachers and villagers eliminate them with their greed to possess and destroy.