Lady of the Lakes

Machhli in her Lake territory, Ramthambore

The legendary "Lady of the Lakes," big cat Machhli is now in rainbows, I am sure making her presence felt there as well. She was the Queen of Ranthambore.  No one is more deserving than her to live in rainbows. She was 19 years old, well passed the life expectancy of a tigress. Machhli was one of the most photographed and avidly followed Panthera Tigris of Ranthambore. The world bowed at her feet. Such was her enigmatic presence.

The news of her illness came to the fore couple of days back and her crossing the rainbow line came to us today morning. Her fans across the world will fondly remember her muscular yet graceful gait and know how fortunate they were to see her. She was known for her power and hunting skills. In her hey days she used to hunt 14 feet long crocodiles. See it here : http://www.ranthamborenationalpark.com/ranthambore-machali.html

The tiger population was revived by Machhli in Ranthambore thanks to her numerous litters. Her phylogeny extends to 16 as per the Wikipedia. Her first set of litters were sent to Sariska to help the numbers grow and they did. Her stories abound the wild life fraternity. Many a documentaries have been filmed on Machhli. There are no television channels worth their salt who could ignore her. Filmed by BBC, National Geographic, Animal Planet and so on. But the best one is of course the fact that she also has a postage stamp to her credit.

T-16 aka Machhli was called so because of the fish mark pattern she bore on her left cheek. She is one big cat who ruled the jungle till she aged. No other tigress dared crossing her path. Her crossing the lakes with her cubs was captured by all animal lovers time and again in the past 19 years. 

The beloved Machhli alone fetched USD 10 million each year to the Park exchequer. By that feat alone she was the best employee Ranthambore dared to have for past two decades.  Her enduring charisma will last forever. May you have a swell time in the rainbow my Queen. Take a bow. You will always reign our hearts and we will always love you.

Photo credits - Google search