Dollar - The Guardian Angel from Ranthambore

Ranthambore National Park

The laws of nature are yet unintelligible to humans. Mother nature has time and again proven us wrong with her alluring script of life. Some tales of the nature redefine our perception of the wilderness and it's savage life forms. Tigers, the majestic beasts... ferocious and untamed souls that rule the jungles have always been considered devoid of emotions. They are thought to be guided by their wild instincts solemnly. But this story of an incredible Tiger and his family will overturn our knowledge of them. Ironically this is the anecdote of a ruthless yet merciful guardian angel of Ranthambore... "Dollar" aka "Zaalim".

Origin of the Legend

January of 2006 was cold and dry in Ranthambore as every winter. The forest had been silent for quite some time now. Territorial battles had not taken place for months and the Lahpur area was dominated by Jhumroo (T20), the son of legendary tigress Machali. He had been around for a long time with the beautiful tigress Gaytri/ Lahpur-Nagdi female (T22). A few months back, they were sighted mating. And hopes of new life blossoming was high. One fine morning, T22 was found strolling around the Lahpur area with a tiny cub trailing behind her. The forest officials and wildlife enthusiast were enthralled by the arrival of the new cub. Initial few months the tigress and the cub remained away from the anxious eyes of their admirers. It made the task for forest officials a little difficult for the identification of the cub. Initially he was thought to be a female cub as sightings were very rare. Even when he got separated from his mother, still very little information of him could be gathered. It was the persistent efforts by the forest officials that finally his identity could be revealed. He was indeed a Male. He would snarl and growl when attempts were made to reach him. On some occasions he also made mock attacks. It was his aggression that earned him his nickname "Zaalim", the ruthless one. The same trait was also exhibited by his siblings Sultanpur male/ Ustad (T24) and Indala (T23).

Dollar sign on right flank

He is also popularly known as "Dollar" for the dollar shaped marking on his right flank. Powerful, fearless and fearsome, Dollar aka Zaalim grew up to become one of the dominant males of Lahpur, sharing his father's territory. From initial days itself, his ruthless aggression made him the center of attraction. He fended his territory with utmost ferocity and chased off tourist vehicles. With time he grew stronger, and established his territory around Semaili area, zone 5 of Ranthambore (even to the present day he roams this area).

Dollar and T5 - Making love

By monsoon of 2009, he also had a lady in his life... T5 - Kachida Female. They spent a lot of time together and even mated frequently. T5 had her first litter from Dollar, in January 2010. It was a beautiful female cub ST8. The love between the two tigers was buzzing and they had their second litter in November 2010. Two females cubs again... Binaek (K1 Ra) and Binado (K2 Ra).

Time seemed good for the tiger family. But destiny had different plans.

Demise of the Matriarch

 During a safari in January 2011, State Tourism, Art and Culture Minister Ms. Bina Kak spotted a beautiful tigress. The tigress seemed restless and clearly was in pain. While taking some pictures she realized that the tigress was wounded and her wound was infected. She informed the Forest department and extended her stay in order to look over the treatment of the tigress. A humble act of compassion by the Minister which earned her appreciation worldwide. The tigress was tranquilized by the forest department, and her wounds were tended to. It was highly infested with maggots. It took the veterinarian a lot of effort to get the wound cleaned. The wound looked gross but none-life threatening. It was not the tigress' health that made the condition serious, it was the fact that currently she was nursing two cubs, three months old. It was tigress number 5, Kachida female.

Ms. Bina Kak's effort to rescue Tigress T5, Kachida female 

Days passed by and the tigress seemed to get well. She would be found near water holes nursing her recovering wound. The forest officials were relieved that she was back to being her former self. But as words go, "Gloom veils under a bloom." Fate revealed itself one night...

Mr. Balendu Singh, the warden of Ranthambore recalls the event, "She was treated for her wounds, which was successful. It was our misfortune that she did not survive for long. She was doing well after 10-15 days of her treatment, but now we feel she became weak and succumbed to her injuries. Fifty meters away from Kachida forest post, her painful growls and cries could be heard the whole night. It was as if she was telling us that she was departing from us."

The lifeless body of Kachida tigress

In the morning of 9th of February 2011, Kachida Tigress was found dead a few meters away from the Kachida post, Ranthambore. Her cubs were also missing. Worried of their safety, forest officials launched a massive search with fifty forest guards assigned. Four days passed with no clue. With every passing day their chances of survival seemed meek. Trap camera were set up around the area in a hope of finding them. After a few days the efforts payed off, the cubs were spotted in bushes near Kachida forest post. Beating all odds they had survived. Actually their mother's demise scared them and they went into hiding in a cave nearby. It was assumed that their mother already knew of her numbered days, and she might have trained them to stay away from danger. As humans we still do not know much about the complex intertwined social and emotional life of tigers. May be they are far more than the savage beasts we know them as.

The Cubs' Fate

Binaek and Binado

The cubs were now found but their fate in the forest was uncertain. Cubs of this age do not survive in the wild. The forest department kept a constant vigil on them and even fed them. Camera traps were installed around the area to monitor their every move. And the images that came through were surprising, they escaped death by a whisker's length many a times. Some times leopards would come very close but they would escape, bears were spotted in the same vicinity on many occasions and once even a Stripped Hyena almost got to them.But miraculously, they stayed alive. It seemed these cubs were meant to be special. They were named Binaek (K1) and Binado (K2), as a display of respect to Minister Ms Bina Kak, who made a valiant effort to save their mother. Binaek was shy and more submissive, while Binado had her own ways. Binado identified by her thick stripes was always on to adventure and dominated her sibling. Still both managed to live peacefully together. 

Trap camera pic. of the Male tiger following one of the cub

 A picture from a camera trap on 14th May, 2011 got the forest officials on their heels. A huge male tiger was seen following one of the cubs. Male tigers are known to kill the cubs in order to be able to mate with resident females and eliminate any future competition. In a mode of panic, officials followed the tiger. To their amazement it was Dollar, their father. What happened next was beyond the wildest imagination. Dollar, the ruthless beast was actually protecting his cubs with maternal instincts. The behavior of Dollar shocked every one. News of this unique episode of the wild spread like jungle fire. Wildlife enthusiast and experts were drawn to Ranthambore to witness this. Overnight, Dollar and his cubs were stars of the wild.

Dollar - the Father-Mom

Dollar and Binaek strolling around

Days passed by, the cubs grew stronger and bigger with their father by their side. He taught them how to hunt. When they were nine months they made their first kill. Binado would lead the hunt and Binaek followed. Dollar would observe them from a distance as they learnt the tricks and trades of a tiger's life. The family would be found cherishing a kill together. Binaek loved to bask in the shadow of her father's domain but Binado was a little rebellious, challenging his authority time and again. No matter how the daughters traded, still the family stayed together. The bond between them strengthening with time. Afternoons of the summer were hot, the family spent a lot of time together cooling down in water holes. They would rub flanks with their father, in tiger language that means a show of affection. When necessary Dollar would also growl at the cubs and let them be in line when they got mischievous. And it was Binado who would always end up on the receiving end.

Dollar growl down at disobedient Binado 

Late one evening while strolling around, the cubs came very close to a waterhole where Tigress T17 (Sundari) was resting. Tigress are not very fond of other cubs in their territory. This made T17 very angry. She crouched low, preparing for an ambush. As she sprinted ahead she was interrupted mid-attack by the emergence of Dollar from the nearby bushes. He shove her away with a sway of his paw. Sundari was startled and had to back down as Dollar stood tall between her and the cubs. T17 lowered herself to the ground, tucked her tail and accepted defeat. Dollar kept vigil till T17 walked away out of view.The event recorded in camera was one of most valuable evidence of maternal instincts of a male tiger. A sight that baffled every tiger expert. But then Dollar was no ordinary tiger. 

Sundari T17 stopped mid-attack by Dollar

Binaek and Binado proliferated under the guidance of their father. They grew up to be two beautiful tigresses who dominated the Kachida territory, which was once their mother's. They lived in harmony till adulthood. Occasionally they were also found straying around some of the park's resorts in the periphery. 

Binaek being radio-collared and relocated to Sariska

After a few months they were spotted with T24- Sultanpur Male aka Ustad. He was the dominant male of the area. It was rumored that the two females had been courting T24. In November 2012, due to higher tiger population in the area, to avoid territorial conflict the Park official decided to relocate Binaek and Binado to Sariska Tiger Reserve. And in January 2013, they were tranquilized and relocated. The family split up with Binaek and Binado starting their life in a new land and Dollar left behind to start afresh. 

It seemed like the end of an epic story of the Indian wilderness. But may be it wasn't...

Dollar and Sundari during courting

Dollar spent some time alone after this, reigning supreme in his territory. His tertiroy was frequently visited by T17 (Sundari) and T19 (Unnis). Both the tigress were sublings of the same litter from the Legendary Machli. Dollar mated with Sundari (T17) late in 2012, who bore him three cubs. They both raised the cubs together for a few months and then suddenly  early in summer 2013, Sundari disappeared without a trace. Her cubs were just few months old and again another set of new life was facing a dilemma for survival. Search for Sundari proved to be futile. She was never seen ever after. 

Following Sundari's disappearance in April 2013, Dollar mothered another set of cubs.
To everyone's astonishment, he betrayed nature once again.

Dollar is still alive and dominant as ever, ruling the Zone 5 of Ranthambore. 

He has engraved his name in history as "The tiger who redefined nature".

T25 Dollar aka Zaalim