India (Frommer's, 4th Edition) - Keith Bain [448]
Old Agra-Achnera Rd., Pakka Bagh Village, Bharatpur 321 001 (3.5km/2 1⁄4 miles from town; 55km/34 miles from Agra). 05644/22-8333 or -5191. Fax 05644/22-58051. www.thebagh.com. thebagh@hotmail.com. 23 units. Rs 7,200 deluxe double; Rs 9,000 junior suite; Rs 13,750; Rs 2,200 extra bed. Taxes extra. AE, MC, V. Amenities: Restaurant; bar; coffee shop; guided tours and bird sanctuary guides; gym; library; pool; spa with Ayurvedic massage, Jacuzzi, sauna, and steam room; yoga. In room: A/C, fan.
Free Range: The Trade in Tiger Parts
It is a fact that most of the poaching in India is driven by demand from China, the world’s biggest market for tiger body parts, due to the fact that the use of tiger bone is common in prescriptions of traditional Chinese medicines. At the time of writing there is a de jure (although not in practice) ban on the internal trade in tiger body parts in China (imposed in 1993), although in 2009 there has been a surge in Indian tiger deaths with at least 68 killings. India has approximately 1,300 wild tigers, while China has only a few. Consequently, and in contradiction to its legislated ban, China sanctions the establishment of controversial tiger farms to harvest and supply the parts. There are around 4,000 tigers in such farms that clearly encourage consumer demand of the parts, which then spills over into the wild tiger sanctuaries. Much of the parts are smuggled through Nepal and Myanmar, but a fair amount also find their way through India. China recently announced there’s a strong possibility they’ll lift the ban and strangely they feel that the farms are not much of a concern for conservation; this thinking could be catastrophic for the tigers. China, as India, is a member of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), which has called for an end to the breeding of tigers for their parts. If such a ban is lifted it may be the beginning of the end of these tigers.
RANTHAMBHORE NATIONAL PARK
Ranthambhore—for many decades the hunting preserve of the princes of Jaipur—covers a mere 40,000 hectares (98,800 acres) but offers a fascinating combination of crumbling monuments, living temples, wild beauty, and your best chance to spot a wild tiger. Set within a high, jagged escarpment, Ranthambhore Fort (save a few hours for a visit) has towered over the park’s forests for nearly a thousand years and has witnessed many a bloody combat—even the Mughal emperor Akbar fought a battle for supremacy here in the 16th century. Inside the fort (open dawn–dusk at no cost) lie a number of ruined palaces, step wells, and a celebrated Ganesha temple visited every year in September by two million pilgrims who come to worship during the Lord Ganesha’s birthday. But it is the forests, that lie shimmering in the gorges below, scattered with more ancient crumbling monuments, that attract the foreign pilgrims, who come during the winter months to catch a glimpse of the mighty Bengal tiger. Sightings are recorded fairly regularly—it is said that between 75% and 95% of all the photographs ever taken of a tiger in the wild have been taken in Ranthambhore. This has meant that the 26-odd tigers living here have become totally habituated to human observation and are almost entirely indifferent to the sight and sound of vehicles and camera flashes.
The success of the park is due in no small measure to the efforts of Fateh Singh Rathore. A member of the princely family of Jodhpur, Rathore was made field director of Ranthambhore in 1972, the year tiger hunting was banned