While the lake dynasty of Machhli takes most of the headlines, Ranthambore's Zone 1 belongs to another royal line — and its reigning queen is Sultana, coded T-107. A daughter of the great Noor (T-39), Sultana has turned the Sultanpur ranges into one of the most productive tiger nurseries in Rajasthan: four litters by 2025, the latest seen at Hammir Kund that April. If you draw the park's tiger family tree, the Noor–Sultana branch is the counterweight to the lakes.
Daughter of Noor
Sultana was born in 2016, in Noor's litter of three females first sighted that November, fathered by the dominant male Singhasth (T-57). Her sisters scattered along very different paths: Noori (T-105) settled beside her mother in Zones 1–2 and raised cubs of her own, while T-106 was translocated to Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve in December 2018 to seed Rajasthan's newest tiger population. Her name follows her family's imperial theme — Noor "the light," her lost half-brother Sultan (T-72) "the emperor," and Sultana "the empress."
She inherited more than a name. As Noor aged, Sultana absorbed the heart of her mother's territory — the Sultanpur, Amreshwar and Singh Dwar country of Zone 1, from the park gate ridges to the Hammir Kund waterhole. Zone 1 is border country, brushing the reserve's edge villages, and its queens learn early to move between wilderness and the human fringe. Sultana is known as a composed, low-drama tigress — visible often, confrontational rarely.
Four Litters and Counting
Sultana's motherhood record reads like a census of Zone 1's future. Her first litter came in 2019; a second, around 2020, did not survive — cub mortality of forty to fifty per cent is the unsentimental norm even in a well-protected reserve. She answered with a litter of three in 2022, raised through the post-monsoon seasons in the Amreshwar valleys.
Then, on 18 April 2025, forest patrols confirmed her fourth litter — two, possibly three, small cubs at Hammir Kund, barely five hundred metres from her previous denning site. Camera traps rather than tourist vehicles have done most of the watching since; the department keeps young dens deliberately under-publicised, in line with cub-protection protocols under Project Tiger. By 2026 the cubs were moving with her, and Zone 1 drivers ranked the family among the park's most dependable sightings.
Seeing Sultana on Safari
Zone 1 is the first gate on the Ranthambore circuit and often underestimated — visitors chase the lakes and forget that the Noor line made this zone famous for a decade. Ask for Zone 1 when booking; dawn drives along the Sultanpur nallahs and the Hammir Kund track give the best odds, especially in the dry months covered in our best time to visit guide. A tigress with cubs sets her own schedule, though — around dens, keep expectations humble and distances generous.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are Sultana's parents?
Noor (T-39) and the male Singhasth (T-57). She was born in 2016 in a litter of three females — her sisters are Noori (T-105) and T-106, the latter now in Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve.
How many litters has Sultana had?
Four documented: 2019, 2020 (did not survive), 2022, and the litter seen at Hammir Kund on 18 April 2025.
Is Sultana related to Sultan (T-72)?
Half-siblings — both are Noor's children from different litters. Sultan (born 2012, father Ustad) vanished in the Kailadevi ranges; Sultana carries the line inside the park.
Where is Sultana's territory?
Zone 1 — the Sultanpur, Amreshwar and Hammir Kund country near the park's entry side, the territory she inherited from Noor.
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