INDIA 2025: RATHAMBORE NATIONAL PARK DAY 2, MORNING SAFARI

 November 28, 2025

On Day 2 in Ranthambore National Park, we again rose early and battled the crowds at the entrance gate. Paperwork for every passenger must be checked before a vehicle is allowed to enter, and that takes time. You can tell how cold is was by looking at the photo of Bonnie and Dave that I took from the back seat.

As much as I complain, I still prefer the bumpy, crowded ride to a long walk in tiger territory.

We were assigned to Zone 5 and started off (again) with a great sighting of wild boars dipping their snouts in a watering hole. The pigeons look ready to dive in as soon as the boars finish up.

Nearby, monkeys were more interested in each others' fleas than in what the boars were doing.

The boars were especially interested in a water cistern that was on the property.  One was even trying to climb on top.

This is an Indian scops owl, caputured with my cellphone. Not bad considering I couldn't really even see it with my naked eye!

I really grew to love the majestic sambar deer. This one was posing for Bob. It's incredible that we got so close.

This is another amazing cellphone shot from a far distance--a rose-ringed parakeet.

It is always nice to have a place where travelers can get out and stretch their legs. This rocky hill at the end of  Zone 5 had a great view of a reservoir below. I just could not let myself think about how tigers like to rehydrate at lakes like these.

You can tell by our attire that it was still pretty chilly in the mid-morning.

No tigers at the reservoir, but there was a big Mugger crocodile sunning himself on the far bank. "Mugger" is derived from the Urdu word magar, which means "water monster." One of these can kill and consume a sambar deer.

A noisy rufous treepie was asking the tourists for snacks. He'd better watch out that he doesn't become a Mugger snack himself.

We often went for several minutes without seeing another vehicle, but there were always plenty of gray langur monkeys.

The monkeys like to eat whatever that is that is growing on the tree--nuts? fruit?

Coming up on the Ranthambore Fort gate means that we are almost out of the park.

I love the sacred cow blowing water out of its nose into the river.

It is not a bad replica of the sacred cow we saw sauntering down the road near our hotel.

In the pool on one side of the gate we saw another Mugger crocodile. In my previous post I noted that the famous lioness Machali killed a 14-foot Mugger and lost two canine teeth in the process. Looking at his body armor, I can understand why!

We were exciteed  to see a ruddy mongoose playing in the grass. We had seen one in Sri Lanka iin 2019, but I that may have been the only other time. They look like they belong in the children's book The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.

Time to go back to the lodge for lunch before heading out again in the afternoon.