Home > Indian Wildlife Travel Guide > National Parks in India

Kanha National Park

Kanha Tiger Reserve comparieses parts of the Mandla, Balaghat, Kwardha and dinodor distrcts fothe Indian state fo Madhya Pradesh. It is located in the Malkal hills of the Satpura hill range Kanha is internationally renowned for its rich floral and faunal attributes.

The Reserve is an excellent interspersion of the Dadars garassy expanses, dense forest and riverine forest. It is very rich in floral largely due to the combination of land forms and soil types apart from the most character of the regaion. The rich habitat diversity of the Reserve suuports abundant animal communities and the lesser life forms, The Reserve is the sanctum sanctorum of typical Central Indian Fauna.

Kanha has distinguished itself in saving the endangered Centeral Indian Barasingha (Cervus duvauceli branderi) from extinction and harboring the only population of this deer species in the World. Phen Wildlife sanchary (Phen WLS) in the North East of Kanha has been made the mini satellite core of the Reserve.

Forest Type
Moist Peninsular Sal Forest
High level Sal
Low level Sal
Valley Sal
Southern tropical Moist Mixed Decidous Forest
Southern Tropical dry Decidous Mixed Forest

General Information :
Best Time to Visit: March to June
Nearest Town : Mandla (65 Km)

How to Get Here :
Air : Jabalpur (170 km), Nagpur (270 km)
Rail : Jabalpur (170 km), Nagpur (270 km)


Flora of Kanha
Shorea robusta Lagerstromea parviflora
Terminalia tomentosa
Dendrocalmus stictus


Fauna of Kanha
Tiger
Leopard(Pandhera pardus)
Spotted Deer or Chittal (Axis axis)
Sambar (Cervus unicolor)
Barasingha (Cervus duvauceli branderi)
Barking Deer (Muntiacus muntjak)
Cousingha (Teracerus qudrisourni)
Gaur or Indian Bison (Bos uarus)
Langur (Presbytis entellus)
Wild Boar (Sus Scrofa)
Jackal (Canis auresus)
Sloth Bear (Meelursus ursinus)
Wild dog. (Cuon alpinus)


Wildlife Conservation in Kanha

Kanha National Park is one of the first nine, Tiger Reserve constituted in our country when "Project Tiger" was initially launched way back in 1973. There present Park area encompasses two important valleys vix the Banjar and the Halon. In 1935, these valley forests were declared Sanctuaries Subsequently, the Banjar valley alone retained that Sanctuaries status till the up gradation as a National park in 1955. the initial area of the National Park was 253 sq. km. km, which with subsequent extensions in 1964and 1970 assumed a size of 446 sq. km. With the launched of Project Tiger in 1973, the Halon valley area was eventually integrated with the Park, thereby increasing the total area to the present size of 940 sq. km..

Kanha tiger Reserve is constituted on a "core-buffer" strategy. The entire National Park area of 940 sq. km. km. is visualised as a "core zone", free from biotic. Disturbances of any sort. A Buffer zone of 1005 sq. km. km. surrounding the core is treated as a multiple use area. The buffer zone comprises almost 40 percent forest area and the rest is costiuted by revenue land this zone has been notified by the state Government as a separate division and is under the unified controls of the management.

The Reserve is a part of the Gonndwana tract inhabited traditionally and chiefly by the Gong and Baiga tribes. The villagers had free access to cut and burn the forest at will. The system of shifting cultivation, locally called "Bewar" prevailed almost unhindered until 1870 on the hill slopes. Unrestricted grazing was permitted up to 1915, when grazing rules were introduced.


Suggested Tours : Indian Wildlife Tour : Wildlife Tour of India and Nepal : Special Birding Tour with Bird Guide : Tiger Safari Packages in India India : Extensive Tiger Tour of North India : Tiger Safari Packages in India with Taj

Kanha National Park : Fact File : Flora of Kanha : Fauna of Kanha : Map of Kanha : Wildlife Conservation in Kanha