I Saw a Tiger! - A nine year old American girl recounts her visit to
Ranthambhore National Park in India
 I saw a tiger while I was in Ranthambhore
National Park. He was like nothing I had ever seen before.
My name is Julia and I live in New York City. I am nine years old. In
late January 2004, I traveled to India for the first time. After a
fun-filled week in Bombay, my mom and dad and I took an overnight train
to Sawai Madhopur, a small town in Rajasthan. We stayed at Fateh Singh
Rathore’s house, and on the first day we arrived, there was a
tiger pugmark in his garden. A pugmark is a tiger footprint.
Fateh was the director of Ranthambhore for over forty years, and
brought Ranthambhore back to life. When he first arrived, there were no
crocodiles and hardly any tigers. The lakes were rice paddies, and
cattle were grazing in the forest. But now Ranthambhore has its
crocodiles, tigers, deer, wild boar, and leopards living in the forest
together.
We had four days to look for a wild tiger. And I think of myself as
very lucky, because I saw a tiger on my first evening in Ranthambhore.
We were in a crowded canter, which is an open van that can hold about 20
people. We didn’t see the tiger up close, but we did see it.
The days passed somewhat quickly. We had to get up very early, and
catch the canter outside thegates of Fateh’s home for the morning
ride. At lunchtime, we came back to Fateh’s house, and ate lunch
in his garden. About two hours later, we would be outside the gates
again, waiting for the canter to take us back into Ranthambhore. We were
back to Fateh’s house late in the afternoon, tired but happy.
On the second day of my visit, I was very lucky as we came along a
bend in the road, and saw a tiger walking right in front of our jeep.
This time there were only five of us in a small jeep, which was more
fun, peaceful, and relaxing at the same time. The tiger walked along
calmly, stopping from time to time to pee on the bushes by the side of
the road. At one point, he turned around and smelled a plant and made a
face. A friend in the jeep, who knows a lot about tigers, said the tiger
made that face so that he could use glands in his cheeks to
“understand” the smell. It was a smell left by another
tiger.
The next day, we were driving in a valley and saw a tigress on a hill
among some trees. She made a sound I know I will never hear again.
I’m trying to figure out how to describe the sound to you. She
made a sound like, “awoooh.” She made it over and over
again. It was wonderful. One person in our jeep thought she was calling
for a mate. But when we returned to Fateh’s house later, he said
she was probably calling to her cubs, telling them to stay hidden.
I’m back in New York now, but I enjoyed my trip to India so
much that I hope I can go back soon. I hope all of you will enjoy
reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it.
By Julia, age 9, New York City
April 17, 2004
Ed's Note: Tourism is an important source of income to help
sustain conservation in tiger range countries. If local communities
benefit from saving tigers, then they are more likely to protect them in
order to sustain their income.
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