Kanha Tiger Reserve, also called Kanha–Kisli National Park, is a tiger reserve in India and the biggest national park in the state of Madhya Pradesh. It spans 940 km² (360 square miles) across two districts, Mandla and Balaghat. The park is home to Bengal tigers, Indian leopards, sloth bears, barasinghas, and dholes. It was the first tiger reserve in India to officially introduce a mascot, named Bhoorsingh the Barasingha.
Geography
Kanha Tiger Reserve covers an area of 940 km² (360 sq mi) in the Mandla and Balaghat districts of Madhya Pradesh. It is split into two protected areas: Hallon and Banjar. Hallon covers 250 km² (97 sq mi), and Banjar covers 300 km² (116 sq mi). Kanha National Park was created on June 1, 1955, and became a tiger reserve in 1973. Along with a buffer zone of 1,067 km² (412 sq mi) and the nearby 110 km² (42 sq mi) Phen Sanctuary, it forms the Kanha Tiger Reserve. This makes it one of the largest tiger reserves in the country and the largest national park in central India.
Flora
The lowland forest in Kanha Tiger Reserve includes sal trees (Shorea robusta) and other types of forest trees, mixed in with meadows. The highland forests are tropical moist and dry deciduous, with bamboo (Dendrocalamus strictus) growing on slopes and Indian ghost trees (Sterculia urens).
Fauna
Kanha Tiger Reserve is home to many types of animals, including chital, sambar, barasingha, gaur, Bengal tiger, Indian leopard, dhole, sloth bear, Indian jackal, and Bengal fox. The barasingha lives in swampy areas. The gaur is found in meadows and near waterholes in the park. Blackbuck is now very rare.
The reserve is also home to about 300 bird species, such as black ibis, Asian green bee-eater, cattle egret, plum-headed parakeet, Indian pond heron, drongo, common teal, crested serpent eagle, Indian grey hornbill, Indian roller, lesser adjutant, little grebe, lesser whistling teal, minivet, Malabar pied hornbill, woodpeckers, pigeons, Indian paradise flycatcher, hill myna, 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, and vultures.
Tiger conservation
Members of the Baiga tribe, a partially nomadic group in central India that depends on the forest for survival, lived in 28 villages inside Kanha National Park until 1968, when they were moved to a different area. This move was part of an effort to protect the habitat of tigers, which are important to the ecosystem. The new land where they were relocated is not fertile, and the tribe now faces challenges with food shortages. The final village to be moved was located in the most protected area of the Kanha Tiger Reserve. In January 2010, members of the Baiga tribe were removed from the park by the government without receiving fair compensation, which was against the law.
To help protect and restore tiger habitats, WWF-India has worked to create paths that connect tiger areas, allowing tigers and their prey to move safely. These efforts aim to reduce harm to people and their property, decrease reliance on the forest for survival, and prevent tigers from being killed in revenge after people lose livestock or crops.