India’s Ranthambhore National Park, home to a recovering population of tigers, has an almost magical aura. The ruins of its ancient red stone fort built a thousand years ago, are inhabited by monkeys.
When golden eyes flash from the underbrush, it’s easy to see why this place feels so familiar—it resembles The Jungle Book.
Author Rudyard Kipling drew some of his inspiration from Ranthambhore, and its mystical atmosphere is echoed in Disney’s animated adaptation.
While My Tiger Family didn’t feature dancing bears or chatty orangutans, it captured breathtaking tiger hunts that called to mind Shere Khan’s fierce presence.
The documentary, filled with footage spanning over five decades, was led by filmmaker and conservationist Valmik Thapar and his colleagues.
They captured rare moments, including a tiger leaping into a crocodile-filled lake to snatch a fawn, as both predators showed no fear of one another.
In one tense moment, a mother tiger led her four cubs through a shallow inlet, but an unseen crocodile lurked below.
Suddenly, one cub was gone. Yet, in another astonishing encounter, a different female tiger attacked a massive 20-foot crocodile, nearly tearing its head off with her powerful jaws before devouring it.
Ranthambhore, once the hunting ground for Indian royalty and visiting dignitaries, has a violent past. A local maharajah claimed to have killed 1,300 tigers.
Even the Duke of Edinburgh once hunted there with the late Queen. But now, thanks to the tireless efforts of people like Thapar, it has become a sanctuary.
Thapar’s connection to Ranthambhore began by chance in his early 20s. After a personal upheaval, he left Delhi and headed to the park. “I wasn’t a scientist or an activist. I was simply a filmmaker who fell in love with the beauty of this place and its tigers,” he reflected.
He soon joined the effort to protect the few remaining tigers, which had dwindled to fewer than a dozen. Over time, their numbers grew, and the new generation of tigers became unafraid of humans.
Some even shifted their hunting patterns, such as a female tiger named Noon, known for hunting at midday.
But then came the poachers. Since the tigers had no fear of humans, they were easy targets. Poachers, often working for Chinese smugglers, profited from selling tiger bones as supposed aphrodisiacs, as well as tiger pelts. One haunting photo showed hundreds of tiger skins, enough to cover a tennis court.
Thapar’s frustration was palpable as he recounted his years of pleading with politicians to combat poaching by deploying more rangers.
Reflecting on his life’s work, Thapar concluded, “The only answer I can give is this: I have been among the wild tigers and helped them to thrive.”
It’s a life dedicated to a noble cause, told with passion and purpose.
Read more Wildlife News.
