Kanha National Park

 Kanha Tiger Reserve, also known as Kanha-Kisli National Park is the largest national park of Madhya Pradesh, India. Kanha National Park is nestled in the Maikal range of Satpuras and is spread over an area of 1,949 sq. km (940 sq. km of core area and 1,009 sq. km of buffer zone). Kanha is one of the best administered parks in Asia and has a thriving population of Royal Bengal Tigers. National Geographic’s famous ‘Land of the Tigers’ was shot here. The forest mentioned in author Rudyard Kipling’s famous novel The Jungle Book is based on jungles of Pench and Kanha including its’ reserve. Kanha’s undulating landscape is dotted with dense groves of vegetation, hillocks and meadows. Of all these habitats, it is Kanha’s meadows that are its’ lifeline, as they sustain large numbers of Chital, Sambar, Barasingha and Gaur, which in turn support populations of predators and co-predators (Tigers, Leopards, Wild Dogs, Jungle Cats and Foxes). Bamni Dadar offers a spectacular view of the setting sun and the dense forest of Kanha. It is home to over 350 species of birds and flora. 

Its greatest achievement has been the preservation of Hard Ground Swamp Deer or Barasingha from near extinction, when they numbered just 66 in 1970. Today, they number more than 400 and are the only surviving population of Barasingha in the wild. Also it is the first tiger reserve in India to officially introduce a mascot, Bhoorsingh – The Barasingha.

Kanha National Park with its’ wildlife and beautiful meadows will take you to the exciting world of ‘Jungle Book’ that will surely leave you nostalgic and make you feel connected to it. So plan your next vacation to Kanha to experience the land of ‘Mowgli’!

Information:

Best time to visit: November – June

Size: 940 sq. km.

Forest Type: Dry Deciduous, Tropical Moist Forest with Sal and other mixed-forest trees interspersed with meadows.

Mammals on focus: Royal Bengal Tiger, Leopard, Wild Dog, Wild Cat, Fox, Jackal, Barasingha, Indian Gaur, Spotted Deer, Sambar, Barking Deer, Four-Horned Antelope, Mouse Deer, Nilgai, Striped Hyena, Sloth Bear, Rhesus Macaque

Birds on focus: Black Ibis, Bee-Eaters, Cattle Egret, Blossom-Headed Parakeets, Pond Herons, Drongos, Common Teal, Crested Serpent Eagle, Grey Hornbill, Indian Roller, Lesser Adjutant, Little Grebes, Lesser Whistling Teal, Minivets, Malabar Pied Hornbill, Woodpeckers, Pigeon, Paradise Flycatchers, Mynas, Indian Peafowl, Red Junglefowl, Red-Wattled Lapwing, Steppe Eagle, Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher, White-Eyed Buzzard, White-Breasted Kingfisher, White-Browed Fantail, Wood Shrikes, Warblers, Vultures