Tiger at Ranthambore Tiger Reserve
Tiger Courtship at Ranthambore Tiger Reserve

My first visit to Ranthambore was in 2008 when for the first time T28 was seen in Berda region (the tourist zone) during winters. However I saw the courtship of T28 and T 19 in Nalghati on 25th May 2009. What a memorable shot as there were only 3 of our vehicles.

It bears a star mark on the left eye which gave this name to him. I must say that he was the real star who contolled the most famous tigress Machhali (T 16 ) and two of his daughters namely Sundari (T 17 ) and Krishna (T 19 ) and the most prime area of the park for more than 9 years.

Tiger at Ranthambore Tiger Reserve

During May visit in 2013 June I again observed T 28 from a close distance when he was cooling off in a waterhole after a heavy lunch.

Yesterday he left this world leaving behind a big legacy .I am sure it is difficult to forget him as he has made his space in our minds forever. I am reminded of a Hindi movie song

रहें ना रहें हम, महका करेंगे

बन के कली, बन के सबा, बाग़े वफ़ा में …

About Vinod Goel

He joined Customs & Central Excise service in 1982. As a civil servant, his job takes him to various parts of India, which gave him an opportunity to capture our wild heritage, through his camera. His passion for wildlife photography started in 2004 when he was posted at Raipur (Chhattisgarh) and this passion continues till today.