Nature
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A Bengal tiger and her cubs were spotted by tourists as they feasted on a crocodile in Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan, India.
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The same can’t be said for a more recent catch of Riddhi’s though, with images and videos showing the tiger and her three cubs chowing down on a crocodile. The cubs were born in 2023, with tourists spotting Riddhi with them in June of that year.
In an announcement of the cubs’ arrival, the national park mentioned a “danger of crocodile” in the area prompting increased monitoring in the area as a precautionary measure – perhaps the crocodiles were the ones in need of protection!
The park was declared a Project Tiger reserve in 1973, and became a national park in 1980.
Riddhi is descended from tigress T-16, aka Machali, who is also known for a tussle with a crocodile that earned her the nickname “crocodile killer”.
Riddhi is also no stranger to clashes with her own species, often fighting with her mother Arrowhead and sister Siddhi over territory. One encounter with Siddhi in 2021 left Riddhi in need of stitches on her tongue.
There were plans to relocate Riddhi to Sariska Tiger Reserve due to these bloody family rows, with Riddhi reportedly also killing a cub. However, that decision sparked opposition from those who said the Sariska and Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserves weren’t equipped for tigers. Tiger T-75 made this same move in 2018, but then died of heat stroke a few months later.
Riddhi’s relocation was cancelled when she shacked up with a male tiger T-120, with the Times of India reporting an official of the park saying, “The male tiger was sighted in the area and there are possibilities that T-124 have mated. In such scenario shifting the tigress is not a good idea.”
“Since long, no fighting has been witnessed and this has made forest department to reconsider the decision. There was a protest too from the tourism industry stakeholders for shifting a tigress from a main tourism zone of Ranthambore.”
