Area: 945 sq. km.
Altitude: 450-950m
Annual rainfall: 1250 mm; Monsoon: July-September
Best season: January (when barasingha are in rut) to June
Closed: 1st July to 31st October
Rec min stay: 2 nights
NB : It can get very cold on winter nights.
Background
This is the country about which Kipling wrote so vividly in his Jungle
Books. The same abundance of wildlife and variety of species still exists
today and the park which forms the core of the Kanha Tiger Reserve (1,945
sq. km) within the game reserve, created in 1974, also protects the rare hard-ground-adapted
barasingha (swamp deer). George Schaller, the zoologist, conducted the first
ever scientific study of the tiger here and research is also being done on
deer and langur habitat. The park has deciduous hardwoods including sal and
stands of bamboo, rolling grasslands and meandering stream of the Banjar River.
It lies in the Mandla District in the Makai Hills in the eastern part of the
Satpura Range.
Wildlife
Originally the area was famed as a hunter’s paradise but now
the valley has been well developed as a national park.
Mammals
Kanha has 22 species and the most easily spotted are three-striped
palm squirrel, common langur monkey, jackal, wild pig, cheetah, rasingha and
blackbuck. Less commonly seen are tiger, Indian hare, dhole (Indian wild dog),
sambar and gaur. Rarely seen are Indian fox, sloth bear, striped hyena, panther
(leopard), nilgai (blue bull), Indian porcupine, wolf (outside park proper)
and the Indian pangolin (sometimes called the scaly anteater).
Birds
Kanha has 230 species recorded, more to be found. Good vantage points
are in the hills where the mixed and bamboo forests harbours many species.
Commonly seen species are leaf warblers, minivets, black ibis, common peafowl,
racket-tailed drongo, hawk eagle, red-wattled lapwing, various species of
flycatcher, woodpecker, pigeon, dove, parakeet, babbler, mynah, Indian roller,
white-breasted kingfisher and grey hornbill.
Viewing
Forest Department guides accompany visitors around the Park on mapped
out circuits to see a good cross-section of wildlife from a jeep. Tours start
at Kisli 0600 , 1800 . Reserve seats on arrival. Visitors may not walk around
inside the park. Elephants are available only from 1600; in the morning they
are used for tiger tracking and if one is spotted, visitors are taken there
either from the Lodge or a near-by point reached by jeep. The sal forest normally
do not allow good viewing. The best areas are the meadows around Kanha, Bamni
Dadar (Sunset Point) affords a view of the dense jungle and animals typical
of the mixed forest zone; sambar, barking deer and chausingha (four-horned
antelope). Early morning and late afternoon are ideal times and binoculars
are invaluable. Machans (viewing platforms/observation towers) are available
for use during daylight; those above waterholed (e.g.Sravantal) are recommended.
Climate
Summer Max 43?C, Min 11?C;
Winter Max 29?C, Min 2? C
