Kanha
is one of the finest national parks in Asia. Coming under the tiger project,
it is a sanctuary of abundant wildlife in its most natural setting.
Situtated in Madhya Pradesh, the Kanha National Park came into being in 1955
and forms the core of the Kanha Tiger Reserve. The tiger reseve was included
under Project Tiger Scheme in 1974 .
In the 1930s, the Kanha area was divided into two sanctuaries Hallon and
Banjar, of 250 sq km and 300 sq km each. Though one of these was
subsequently disbanded, the area remained a protected one until 1947.
Depletion of the tiger population in the years that followed led to the area
being made an absolute sanctuary in 1952.
The major achievement of Kanha national park is the preservation of the
rare hardground Swamp Deer (Barasingha), that saved it from extinction.
Stringent conservation programs for the overall protection of the Park's
fauna and flora, makes Kanha national park one of the most well maintained
National Parks in Asia. The exotic flora and fauna of Kanha provided
inspiration to Rudyard Kipling for his famous novel "Jungle Book".
Location of Kanha National Park :
Situated in Madhya Pradesh, the nearest airport is at Jabalpur (173 km) &
Nagpur (226 km). Indian Airlines flies to Jabalpur from Bhopal & Raipur &
to Nagpur from Bombay, Calcutta & Bhubaneshwar, Hyderabad, Delhi &
Bhopal. Vayudoot flies to Nagpur from Aurangabad.The nearest railhead is
Jabalpur (173 km) on the Bombay-Allahabad-Calcutta, Delhi-Jabalpur &
Madras-Varanasi main lines. Kanha is connected with Jabalpur with Kisle via
Mandla & Chiraidongri which takes approx. 7 hr, fare Rs 30.
Kanha
as Tiger Reserve :
Kanha national park is majorly occupied by Tiger population. The park have
significant number of tiger, bison, gaur, sambhar, chital, barasingha,
barking deer, black deer, black buck, chousingha, nilgai, mouse deer, sloth
bear, jackal fox, porcupine, hyena, jungle cat, python, pea fowl, hare,
monkey, mongoose, tiger, and leopard.
Chirpy Birds! :
Kanha national park has good numbers of birds species that includes storks,
teals, pintails, pond herons, egrets, peacock, pea fowl, jungle fowl, spur
fowl, partridges, quails, ring doves, spotted parakeets, green pigeons, rock
pigeons, cuckoos, papihas, rollers, bee-eater, hoopoes, drongos, warblers,
kingfishers, woodpeckers, finches, orioles, owls, and fly catchers.
