This is one of
India's most visited wildlife area, leading to its having an excellent
tourist infrastructure. It is famous for the wonderful views of tigers
visitors get from elephant back. Wildlife here is more accessible than
many parks in India. Kanha is also famous for its gaur and the
hard-hoofed swamp deer.
Surrounded
by 100, 500 hectares of additional buffer area and established in 1933
as a sanctuary, later developed as a National Park 1955 & As a Tiger
Reserve In 1975, Kanha National Park is Kipling country and the nearby
forests were the setting for the "Jungle Book" by Rudyard
Kipling. It's an outstanding national park and wildlife reserve of
Central India, noted for its last remaining population of the
hard-ground race of the Swamp Deer (approximately 380).
There
are 175 varieties of birds in Kanha National Park. So if you happen to
be bird watcher, look forward to a full spotting itinerary. The terrain
inside the park is varied, nonetheless enjoyable. Bamboo forests flow
into Sal forests and meadows. There are herds of spotted deer to be seen
with smaller herds of spotted deer to be seen with smaller herds of
beautiful antelope, the black buck. With a little luck, you could also
spot the timorous barking deer. It's snapping warns other denizens of
the forest that a predator is around. There is also a very strong
possibility that you will see the rare Barasingha, the Swamp Deer. Once
there were only 66 of these in Kanha, but careful conservation and
management raised their population to over 400.
It was at Kanha
that the eminent zoologist George Schaller undertook the first
ever-scientific study of the tiger. Another landmark at Kanha is the
preservation of the 'hard ground' Barasingha. This was achieved by
extending the grasslands, relocating villages and by increasing habitat.
The
TopographyKanha has two main valleys, Halon in the east and
Banjar in the west, and the grassy 'maidans' (often old village sites),
dotted with clumps of forest harbour large numbers of herbivores. The
hills offer support sizeable plateaus (locally called 'Dadars') and the
characterized by extensive grasslands and scant trees. These 'Dadars'
are much favoured by Gaur and Four-horned Antelope.
The forests
are deciduous, the main tree being the Sal, and there are large stands
of bamboo. Higher up the slopes the forests tend to become dense and
mixed with Haldu and Bija trees. Birds in the park include the Painted
Partridge, Shaheen Falcon and Golden Oriole.
