Meet Machli, The Tigress Who Earns 6 Crore Every Month for Her Photogenic Face

Posted on 31 May 2016. Tags: crore, earns, Every, Face, Machli, meet, month, Photogenic, tigress

Machli is a star in India’s Ranthambore National Park. She rules the hearts of tourists and is a muse of shutterbugs who travel across the country to have a glimpse of this fierce tigress. Mother to almost 60% of the tigers in the country, Machli is the most photographed tiger in the world.

 

Machli turned 20 this year. Two years back, the striped cat suddenly went missing for 26 days. All theories revolving around poaching surrounded her sudden disappearance. In memory of the beast, obituaries were written and photographs framed, but the tigress still lives and continues to show her prowess in the National Park.

 

Machli is an international fame. Several documentaries have been shot on her and numerous stories written about her majestic and fierce personality. She is a prolific model, posing valiantly in front of cameras without a touch of diffidence.

 

That’s not all about the fierce beast. She is known to have contributed more than Rs 67 crore per year to the Indian government by attracting tourists to Rajasthan in the last 10 years. A fish shaped mark on the left side of the tigress’s face has given her the adorable name of ‘Machli’.

 

The ferocious tigress can give competition to the male tigers when they threaten her on her cubs. The proud mother of 11, Machli is still muscular and full of valour at 20 while most tigers die by the time they reach 15 years of age. Her children are as camera-friendly as the tigress herself but none of them are any close to her when it comes to her power and majesty.

 

At 20, Machli has lost her teeth and an eye and retired to the peaceful outskirts of the National Park.

 

Click next to see the journey of Machli aka ‘T-16’ in the last 20 years…

Daily Bhaskar