Kanha National Park

All you want to know about Kanha National Park

Kanha National Park
IUCN Category II (National Park)
Location Madhya Pradesh, India
Nearest city Mandla
Coordinates 22°20′0″N 80°38′0″E / 22.33333, 80.63333
Area 940 km²
Established 1955
Visitors 1,000 (in 1989)
Governing body Forest Department of Madhya Pradesh government
Spotted deer (Axis axis) at Kanha

Kanha National Park is a national park and a Tiger Reserve in the Mandla and Balaghat districts of Madhya Pradesh, India. In the 1930s, Kanha area was divided into two sanctuaries, Hallon and Banjar, of 250 and 300 km² each. Kanha National Park was created on 1 June 1955. Today it stretches over an area of 940 km² in the two districts Mandla and Balaghat. Together with a surrounding buffer zone of 1009 km² and the neighboring 110 km² Phen Sanctuary it forms the Kanha Tiger Reserve. The park has a significant population of Royal Bengal Tiger, leopards, the sloth bear, Barasingha and Indian wild dog.

Contents

Flora

The lowland forest is a mixture of sal (shorea robusta) and other mixed forest trees, interspersed with meadows. The highland forests are tropical moist dry deciduous type and of a completely different nature with bamboo on slopes (dendrocalamus strictus). A very good looking Indian ghost tree (kullu) can also be seen in the dense.

Kanha Tiger Reserve abounds in meadows or maidans which are basically open grasslands that have sprung up in fields of abundant villages, evacuated to make way for the animals. Kanha meadow is one such example. There are many species of grass recorded at Kanha some of which are important for the survival of Barasingha (Cervus duvauceli branderi). Dense forested zones with good crown cover has abundant species of climbers, shrubs and herbs flourishing in the understory. Aquatic plants in numerous "tal" (lakes) are life line for migratory and wetland species of birds.

Fauna

Tigress with her two cubs in Kanha National Park
Barasinghas at Kanha National Park

There is a large tiger population in the park (131 tigers as on June 2006). The park also has a significant population of leopards, the sloth bear and Indian wild dog (Cuon alpinus dukhunensis). The population of leopards is estimated to 80, the wild dogs to 396 and the sloth bears to 111 individuals for the year 2000.[1] Rare Indian wolf (Canis (lupus) indica) can be found in the far east part of the park.

The most abundant prey species for the large predators is the spotted deer or chital, which number is estimated to about 20000 in the park. The second largest population of deer is that of Sambar (Cervus Unicolor) which constitutes an important prey base of the tiger. Other commonly observed mammals include the common grey langur (6668 in 2000), wild boar (8534 in 2000), gaur (more than thousand in 2000), sambar (3621 in 2000)[1] and barasingha or swamp deer (this is the hardground swamp deer (Cervus duvauceli branderi), found only in Kanha, barely 1200 survive in the wild). Barasingha were only 60 left in this planet when measures were taken to prevent extinction. As of June 2006, the count is around 1200. An attempt to raise the black buck here has failed. The chousingha and the nilgai (blue bull), though rare, can also be found in Kanha.

Other larger mammal species of the park are rhesus macaque, golden jackal, Bengal fox, smooth-coated otter, honey badger, small Indian civet, Indian gray mongoose, ruddy mongoose, striped hyena, jungle cat, leopard cat, Indian spotted chevrotain, Indian pangolin, Indian porcupine and Indian hare. The Indian jungle fowl, which is the ancestor of domestic hens, is common.

Transportation & facility

Jabalpur has the nearest Aerodrome (169 K.M.) which is connected with Delhi, Mumbai, and bhopal. Mandla (70 K.M.) is well connected with Kanha, Mandla has sports clubs, Internet cafes, guides, churches (Catholic + Protestant) and hundreds of beautiful temples around the city. There are three gates for entrance into the forest. The Kisli gate is best accessible from Jabalpur. The Kisli gate stops at village Khatia which comes inside the buffer area. The second gate is Mukki. The third and recently opened gate is Serai gate.

General information

  • Area: (core) 940 km²
  • Terrain: sal and bamboo forests, plateaus, meadows and meandering streams
  • Best Season: February to June
  • Morning Visiting Hours: Sunrise to 1100Hrs
  • Evening Visiting Hours: 1630Hrs to Sunset
  • Closed: 1 July to 30 September

The nearest airport and railhead is at [[Jabalpur]and [Nagpur]] (160 km, 3 hours by road from Jabalpur and 260 kms, 6 hrs from Nagpur).

References

  1. ^ a b A. P. Dwivedi: Protected Areas of Madhya Pradesh,Government printing Press, Bhopal 2003

General References

  • K. K. Gurung & Raj Singh: Field Guide to the Mammals of the Indian Subcontinent, Academic Press, San Diego, ISBN 0-12-309350-3
  • A. P. Dwivendi: Protected Areas of Madhya Pradesh,Government printing Press, Bhopal 2003

External links

Photos

Info on Kanha National Park

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanha_National_Park"

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