Fateh Singh Rathore

Fateh Singh Rathore
Fateh Singh Rathore in 2008
Born	10 August 1938 Choradia village, Jodhpur district, Rajasthan
Died	1 March 2011 Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan
Residence	Sawai Madhopur
Nationality	Indian
Alma mater	Rajputana University 1960, Wildlife Institute of India 1969
Known for	Tiger conservation
Spouse(s)	Khem Kanwar
Awards	World Wildlife Fund lifetime achievement award
Scientific career
Fields	Wildlife Conservation
Institutions	Rajasthan Forest Dept., Tiger Watch
Influences	S. R. Choudhury
Influenced	Belinda Wright, Valmik Thapar

Fateh Singh Rathore (10 August 1938 – 1 March 2011) was an Indian tiger conservationist. Fateh Singh joined the Indian Forest Service in 1960 and was part of the first Project Tiger team. He was widely acknowledged as the tiger guru for his legendary knowledge of the big cat. He worked over 50 years in wildlife conservation. Rathore was noted for his pioneering relocation of villages from inside the Ranthambhore National Park in 1973–75. Largely because of Mr. Rathore, "Ranthambhore became the place which brought the tiger to the consciousness of people the world over."

Fateh Singh Rathore was born in Choradia village in Jodhpur district of Rajasthan. He was the eldest son in a family of 6 boys and 5 girls. His grandfather Laxman Singh Rathore was a major in the army. Rathore’s father, Sagat Singh, was the eldest son of Laxman Singh. He was a police officer and managed the family’s land and property in their village near Jodhpur. His mother loved him very dearly, and was a very bold lady, protecting him from his grandfather’s anger when he was mischievous. She died in February 2010.

Rathore’s uncles, one in the army, and the other a lawyer, helped bring him up. He was sent away to Col. Brown Cambridge School, a boarding school, in Dehra Dun and later stayed with an uncle while a college student. He was not interested in his studies, preferring to take part in dramas etc. and have fun. His uncle wanted him to be a lawyer, but his heart was not in it. Rathore graduated from the Rajputana University in 1960. After working as a store clerk and selling coal, Rathore was offered a job as a park ranger by an uncle who had become deputy minister of forests in Rajasthan.

Rathore joined the Rajasthan Forest Service on the advice of his uncle. One of his first jobs was organising tiger hunts in the area which later became Ranthambhore National Park (RNP) during a visit by the Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh in January 1961. The first tiger he ever saw was one shot by the Duke: "I was not in love with the tiger at the time. We were very happy that we succeeded," he recalled.