Our last day started very very hot. We drove the early morning light tracking the mating couple from the other day. Yesterday was very quiet and we were hoping for a grand finale moment today. We came across some monster sized pugmarks and this meant only one tiger... "Fateh" (meaning victory). He is over 600 lbs and is the male from the mating couple. No signs of the female tracks so the exotic fling was over. We waited for some time to hear any alarm calls... nothing. He was now hungry and eager to mark his territory.
We headed to a nearby riverbed and before long received a message from another ranger that Fateh was on the move behind us. U-turn and back we bolted. Within a few minutes there he was confidently walking along. With an almost arrogant attitude about him, he ignored our vehicle slowly driving alongside him at a 20 foot range. For 45 min. we followed him along the winding dirt road positioning ourselves for some great camera angles as he intersected the trail repeatedly. What's amazing is Fateh is only 8 years old and a few years away from being in his prime. He is going to be huge and we can't wait to come back and see him down the line.
This was an incredible way to end our tiger adventure and was easily our best encounters to date. These are a couple of photos of this big boy. Enjoy. Next stop Leopards of Sri Lanka!“
We headed to a nearby riverbed and before long received a message from another ranger that Fateh was on the move behind us. U-turn and back we bolted. Within a few minutes there he was confidently walking along. With an almost arrogant attitude about him, he ignored our vehicle slowly driving alongside him at a 20 foot range. For 45 min. we followed him along the winding dirt road positioning ourselves for some great camera angles as he intersected the trail repeatedly. What's amazing is Fateh is only 8 years old and a few years away from being in his prime. He is going to be huge and we can't wait to come back and see him down the line.
This was an incredible way to end our tiger adventure and was easily our best encounters to date. These are a couple of photos of this big boy. Enjoy. Next stop Leopards of Sri Lanka!“