>BhagyaMani at 10:53, 2 June 2021

2021-06-02T10:53:38Z

New page

{{short description|National Park in Madhya Pradesh, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox protected area
| name = Kanha Tiger Reserve
| iucn_category = II
| photo = Tiger Kanha National Park.jpg
| photo_alt =
| photo_caption = [[Tiger]] in Kanha Tiger Reserve
| photo_width =
| map = India Madhya Pradesh#India
| location = [[Madhya Pradesh, India]]
| nearest_city = [[Mandla]]
| coordinates = {{coords|22|20|N|80|38|E|display=inline, title}}
| area_km2 = 940
| created = 1933 (as Wildlife Sanctuary); National Park in 1955; Tiger Reserve in 1974
| visitation_num = 1,000
| visitation_year = 1989
| governing_body = [https://web.archive.org/web/20110310220153/http://210.212.144.202/kanha/ Madhya Pradesh Forest Department]
| embedded =
}}
'''Kanha Tiger Reserve''', also known as '''Kanha–Kisli National Park''', is one of the [[tiger reserves of India]] and the largest [[National park of India|national park]] of the state of [[Madhya Pradesh]]. The present-day Kanha area is divided into two protected areas, Hallon and Banjar, of {{cvt|250|and|300|km2|abbr=on}}, respectively. Kanha National Park was created on 1 June 1955 and was designated a tiger reserve in 1973. Today, it encompasses an area of {{cvt|940|sqkm}} in the two districts [[Mandla]] and [[Balaghat]].

Together with a surrounding buffer zone of {{cvt|1,067|sqkm|abbr=on}} and the neighbouring
{{cvt|110|sqkm|adj=on|abbr=on}} Phen Sanctuary, it forms the Kanha Tiger Reserve, which is one of the biggest in the country.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://210.212.144.202/kanha/|title=Kanha Tiger Reserve|publisher=Madhya Pradesh Forest Department|access-date=14 April 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110310220153/http://210.212.144.202/kanha/ |archive-date=10 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.kanhatigerreserve.com/ |title=Kahna Tiger Reserve: History and origin (3rd slide) | publisher=Kahna Tiger Reserve | access-date=21 March 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150315092346/http://www.kanhatigerreserve.com/ | archive-date=15 March 2015 | url-status=dead }}</ref> This makes it the largest national park in [[central India]].

The park hosts [[Bengal tiger]], [[Indian leopard]], [[sloth bear]], [[barasingha]] and [[dhole]]. It is also the first tiger reserve in India to officially introduce a mascot, Bhoorsingh the Barasingha.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/meet-bhoorsingh-the-barasingha-kanha-tiger-reserve-becomes-first-in-india-get-official-mascot/story-sUNrcno629AeTdmnQWIo8M.html|title=Meet ‘Bhoorsingh the Barasingha’: Kanha tiger reserve becomes first in India get official mascot|work=[[Hindustan Times]]|author=Neeraj, S. |date=2017|access-date=18 May 2017}}</ref>

== Flora ==
Kanha Tiger Reserve is home to over 1000 species of flowering plants.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mponline.gov.in/portal/Services/Forest/FinalForest/foresthome.htm|title=Kanha National Park|work=Reservation Portal Madhya Pradesh Forest Department|publisher=MPOnline Ltd., JV between MPSEDC of Govt. of Madhya Pradesh & TATA Consultancy Services|access-date=14 April 2010}}</ref> 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 from bamboo (''Dendrocalamus strictus'') on slopes. A notable Indian ghost tree (''[[Davidia involucrata]]'') can also be seen in the dense forest.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gocentralindia.com/kanha.html|title=Destination to roam|website=www.gocentralindia.com|access-date=21 February 2020}}</ref>

==Fauna==
Kanha Tiger Reserve hosts populations of tiger, leopard, wild dog, sloth bear, foxes and jackals. Barasingha (''Cervus duavcelli branderi'') is adapted to hard ground. Gaur (''Bos gaurus'') inhabits meadows and waterholes in the park.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kanha-national-park.com/flora-in-kanha-national-park.html|title=Flora in Kanha National Park | Wild Flowers at Kanha|access-date=21 February 2020}}</ref>
[[Blackbuck]] has become very rare.<ref>A. P. Dwivendi: ''Protected Areas of Madhya Pradesh'', Government printing Press, Bhopal 2003</ref>

The reserve hosts around 300 species of birds and the most commonly seen birds are the black ibis, bee-eaters, [[cattle egret]], [[blossom-headed parakeet]]s, pond herons, drongos, [[common teal]], [[crested serpent eagle]], grey hornbill, [[Indian roller]], [[lesser adjutant]], [[little grebe]]s, [[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, and warblers, vultures among many more.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Bird Watching at Kanha National Park with 300 Avifauna Species|url=https://www.kanha-national-park.com/birding-in-kanha.html|publisher=Kanha National Park|access-date= 26 July 2019}}</ref><ref name=WILDLIFEZONES>{{Cite news|title=Kanha National Park and Tiger Reserve – Treasures of Wildlife|url=https://wildlifezones.com/kanha-national-park-and-tiger-reserve-treasures-of-wildlife/|publisher=WILDLIFEZONES.COM|access-date= 26 July 2019}}</ref>

==Reintroduction of barasingha==
An exciting conservation effort in this national park is the reintroduction of [[barasingha]]. The [[gaur]] will be relocated to [[Bandhavgarh National Park|Bandhavgarh]] and some barasingha will be relocated to [[Satpura National Park|Satpura Tiger Reserve]]. The objective of this project is to introduce about 500 barasingha in this national park to eight or nine different locations. There is also a project to capture about twenty [[Bengal tiger|tigers]] and relocate them to [[Satpura Tiger Reserve]].<ref>sala [http://www.andbeyond.com/carlisle_on_conservation/62/reintroduction-of-barasingha-kanha-national-park-satpura-tiger-reserve/ Reintroduction of Barasingha: Kanha National Park – Satpura Tiger Reserve] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130721023157/http://www.andbeyond.com/carlisle_on_conservation/62/reintroduction-of-barasingha-kanha-national-park-satpura-tiger-reserve/ |date=2013-07-21 }}</ref>

== Tiger conservation and the Baiga tribe ==
Members of the [[Baiga tribe]], a semi-nomadic tribe of central India that is reliant on the forest, lived in 28 villages that had been within the Kanha National Park until 1968, when they were relocated. The relocation was part of an effort to maintain a critical tiger habitat.<ref name="Galli">{{cite web|url=http://www.galli.in/2011/08/out-of-junglethe-baigas-sayantan-bera.html|title=Out of the Jungle: The Baigas - Sayantan Bera|work=Galli Magazine|access-date=21 March 2015}}</ref> The land to which they were relocated is barren and they now suffer from alcoholism and malnourishment, and beg to support themselves.<ref name="Galli" /> The last of the villages to be relocated for the tiger habitat is in the core zone of the Kanha Tiger Reserve.<ref name="Galli" /> The area is the ancestral home of the [[Gondi people|Gond]] and Baiga tribes.
In January 2010, Baiga tribe were illegally evicted from the park without proper compensation from the government, according to [[Survival International]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/10631|title=Tribespeople illegally evicted from 'Jungle Book' tiger reserve|author=Survival International|work=survivalinternational.org|access-date=21 March 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mptourism.com/tourist-places/kanha-national-park.html|title=Kanha Tiger Reserve}}</ref>

In its efforts to maintain and restore tiger habitats, [[WWF-India]] has worked to create corridors that support the tigers and their prey, thereby stabilizing the tiger population. This includes efforts to prevent loss of life or property of humans, reduce human dependency on the forest, and reduce retaliatory killings of tigers when people have experienced losses.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wwfindia.org/about_wwf/priority_species/bengal_tiger/work_for_tiger/|title=WWF India - WWF-India’s work for tiger|work=wwfindia.org|access-date=21 March 2015}}</ref>

However, Kanha's frontline staff continue to receive support, training and equipment from WWF, even as they carry out the eviction of the 22,000 residents who are to be forcibly resettled from tiger reserves in the region.

==Transportation and access==
The [[Jabalpur Airport]] {{cvt|175|km}} / 04:30hrs) has direct flights to and from [[Delhi]], [[Mumbai]], [[Kolkata]], [[Hyderabad]], [[Pune]], [[Belgaum]] and [[Bhopal]], with [[AirIndia]], [[SpiceJet]] and [[Indigo]] operating daily flights. [[Nagpur]] (Mukki {{cvt|240|km}} and [[Raipur]] (Mukki {{cvt|185|km}}) have other airports.

[[Jabalpur]] is major [[railway stations]] with train connectivity across India. From Jabalpur, the best way to travel is via [[Mandla]], which has a tourist taxi service to the park, and one can reach up to Chiraidongri the newly added Broad Gauge station<ref>Indian Railway</ref> via jabalpur, [[Nainpur Junction railway station|Nainpur railway]] route to enter national park through Kanha gate. In pre-planned journey one of shortest road route is Jabalpur-Bargi Dam-Ganhsor-Thanwar Dam-Chiraidongri-Kanha National Park. Other route Jabalpur to Mandla (via NH-30)-Chiraidongri- Kanha route is preferred when arrival permission is to be taken from National Park authority at Mandla. This National Park can also be approached from Raipur - Gandai - Malanjkhand - Baihar highway route via Mukki Gate to National Park. M.P. Tourism and Private owners has hotels, resorts near to Mukki Gate. Similar stay facilities is also available at Khatia and Kanha Gate.

There are three gates for entrance into the park. The Kanha/Kisli gate is best accessed from Jabalpur and stops at the village Khatia, inside the buffer area. The second gate is at Mukki and the third, most recently opened, gate is at Sarhi.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kanha-national-park.com/how-to-reach-kanha.html|title=How to Reach Kanha National Park, Madhya Pradesh|access-date=21 February 2020}}</ref>

==Ecosystem valuation==
An economic assessment study of Kanha Tiger Reserve estimated that the tiger reserve provides flow benefits worth 16.5 billion rupees (0.80 lakh / hectare) annually. Important [[ecosystem services]] from the tiger reserve include gene-pool protection (12.41 billion year), provisioning of water to downstream regions (558 million) and provisioning of fodder in buffer areas (546 million). Other services included recreation value (384 million), provision of habitat and refugia for wildlife (319 million) and [[carbon sequestration|sequestration of carbon]] (219 million).

==See also==
* [[Arid Forest Research Institute]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Kanha National Park}}
{{Wikivoyage-inline}}

{{National Parks of India}}
{{Tiger Reserves of India}}
{{Narmada basin}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Eastern Highlands moist deciduous forests]]
[[Category:National parks in Madhya Pradesh]]
[[Category:Tiger reserves of India]]
[[Category:Balaghat]]
[[Category:Mandla]]
[[Category:Protected areas established in 1955]]
[[Category:Wildlife conservation in India]]
[[Category:1955 establishments in India]]

Kanha Tiger Reserve - Revision history

>BhagyaMani at 10:53, 2 June 2021