Tiger family gives a happy surprise at Ranthambore National Park

Tourist spots Tiger T-62, tigress T-59 and their two cubs. Forest official says it’s rare to spot the entire family together

Little did Abhishek Chaudhary, a businessman from Patna and wildlife photography enthusiast, know that on Saturday, he would spot something exceptionally rare. A regular visitor to the

Ranthambore National Park

, Abhishek, on Saturday morning, spotted not just one or two, but an entire family of tigers – T-62 tiger and T-59 tigress and their two cubs were spotted by the Patna tourist as they were relaxing in a water pool in zone 9 of the national park.

Abhishek told us, “Tiger spotting is very rare in zone 9. I have spotted T-62 tiger once earlier but I couldn’t spot T-59. So, I have been visiting zone 9 to try my luck for the past few months. Luckily, on Saturday, I not only spotted T-62 but his entire family, including T-59 and two of their ten-month-old cubs. I first spotted T-62 who was walking towards the water pool. Then, within a few minutes, I spotted one of his cubs who was already sitting next to the water pool. That’s when I thought that if one cub is here, then the other cub, along with their mother, would be nearby. So, I waited for around half-an-hour. Then, I spotted the entire family, relaxing in the water pool, taking respite from the heat.” Abhishek claims that this is the first time that they have been spotted together by a tourist.

T-62, the male tiger, left for Bundi forest in 2013, due to the threat from mighty Fateh (T-42), his brother Surzan (T-43) and 62’s own father Kumbha (T-34), who were in their prime then. He returned in 2016 to retaliate, covering a distance of around 130km to take back his territory, that led to Fateh fleeing from the area.