Raining toads and tigers

There is a lot of debate on the question of reinforcing tiger conservation in the country. The following narrative and images proves a telling point by showing how indirectly the habitat conservation of tigers leads to the conservation of many smaller animals dwelling in the same habitat which might have been unnoticed.

I took this image in Ranthambhore National Park. It was a chilly evening and we went to the other zone of the park which is situated in the old city of Sawai Madhopur Zone 6 also known as Kundal. It is not a usually popular tourist haunt, so people dont go there a lot. But 2018 had been a year when tigers have been sighted mostly in that particular area.

Of all the tiger sightings by me on that particular visit to Ranthambore, this one stands out in memory because of its peculiarity. In this images you can easily notice that there are some 15 to 20 Asian toads lying on the tiger’s back. I haven’t seen these many toads or frogs on tigers’ back ever.

Though I have seen 2 to 3 toads on tiger-back earlier, but the sheer number of 15 to 20 toads all on a single tiger is a sight beyond my comprehension. The tiger in question is one of the cubs of the T8 tigress who is now a successful mother of 2 cubs.

I name this image as “Shahi Savari“ or the “Royal Ride On Tiger Back”.  It makes a very telling point about how saving tiger habitats usually save all other lesser-known species that dwell in harmony in said habitat.