Wildlife Conservation & Restoration Tourism
- About Wildlife Conservation & Restoration Tourism in India. Feature Information
about Wildlife Parks, Tiger Reserves & Bird Sanctuary in India.
Pench Tiger Reserve
» Introduction
The Pench Tiger Reserve is named after the Pench river, which flows from north
to south through the Reserve. The Reserve is located in the southern reaches
of the Satpura hill ranges in the Seoni and Chhindwara districts in the Madhya
Pradesh state of India. The terrain is undulating, with most of the area covered
by small hill ranges, steeply sloping on the sides.
The Reserve is situated in an area that holds a significant place in the natural
history of Central India. The description of its natural beauty, richness
in flora and fauna has appeared in numerous wildlife books dating back to
17th century. Books written in the 19th and early 20th century by famous naturalists
like Captain J. Forsyth and Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book explicitly present
the detailed panorama of nature's abundance in this tract.
An extensive forest belt extends in three directions, north, east and south,
covering forest tracts of Seoni, Balaghat and Nagpur districts. The contiguous
forest on the southern side in the Maharashtra state of India, initially notified
as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru National Park has been recently included in the
Project Tiger network by the same name as this Reserve. A dam was constructed
on the Pench river on south-eastern boundary of the Reserve.
The area is criss-crossed by numerous seasonal streams and nalas. The Pench
river flowing through the central line of the Reserve is dry by the April-end
but a number of water pools locally known as dohs are found, which serve as
waterholes for wild animals. A few perennial springs also exist in this area.
However, the water sources are not suitably distributed, hence large area
remains unutilized by the wild animals. The Pench reservoir at the center
of the Reserve is the only major water source during pinch period.
As the prey concentration is high along the Pench river, tigers usually inhabit
this belt. Leopards, though, generally operate in the peripheral areas but
are occasionally seen in deep forests also. Jungle cats are commonly seen.
Leopard cats, Small Indian Civets and Palm Civets are common but seen very
rarely.
Wild dogs are commonly seen in packs of 12 to 15, near Chhedia, Jamtara, Bodanala
and Pyorthadi areas of the Reserve. Wild Boar is ubiquitous. Sloth bear occupy
hilly, rocky out crops and favour mahul bel infested forest. Chinkara is present
in very small number and is found in open areas around Turia, Telia, Dudhgaon
villages. Jackals are seen occasionally in near Tekadi, Alikatta and Chhindimatta
villages
» Conservation History
Pench Tiger Reserve was created in 1992, becoming 19th Reserve in the Project
Tiger network. The core zone of the Reserve, Pench National Park was created
in 1983. This was carved out of the Pench Sanctuary created in 1977 with an
area of 449.39 sq. km. The area of the Park is 292.85 sq. km., which is divided
almost equally in two districts - 145.36 sq. km. in Seoni and 147.28 sq. km.
in Chhindwara. The area in Seoni is all Reserve Forest whereas the area in Chhindwara
includes 138.24 sq. km. Reserve forests, 6.26 sq. km. Protected Forests and
2.78 sq. km. revenue land. The buffer zone, 465 sq. km., comprises of 333.05
sq. km. of R.F., 102.36 sq. km. of P.F. and 29.59 sq. km. of revenue land. The
total area of the reserve is 757.86 sq. km.
» Census
| CENSUS |
| Species |
1990 |
1991 |
1992 |
1993 |
1994 |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
| Chital |
1473
|
2630 |
3452 |
3908 |
6666 |
5547 |
6300 |
6800 |
| Sambhar |
830
|
1395 |
1810 |
1843 |
2237 |
1752 |
1850 |
2221 |
| Bull Bull |
256
|
673 |
817 |
867 |
1353 |
1272 |
1200 |
1384 |
| Barking Deer |
283
|
317 |
369 |
488 |
512 |
281 |
280 |
334 |
| Chousinga |
59
|
118 |
128 |
190 |
199 |
63 |
80 |
177 |
| Gaur |
125
|
303 |
360 |
418 |
438 |
363 |
385 |
528 |
| Chinkara |
NA
|
21 |
25 |
32 |
34 |
44 |
50 |
58 |
| Leopard |
11 |
13 |
17 |
15 |
15 |
11 |
16 |
32 |
| Tiger |
25
|
25 |
27 |
28 |
28 |
27 |
33 |
41 |
» Forest Types
South Indian Tropical moist deciduous (slightly moist),Southern tropical dry
deciduous teak bearing forests.,Southern dry mixed deciduous forest.
Major Flora
Main Species : Teak and its associates Moyan, Mahua, Mokha, Skiras, Tendu,
Bija, Achar, Garari andAonla, Bhaman, Ghont, Baranga, Amaltas, Kihamali, Khair,
Bhirra, Palas. Bamboo occurs sparsely, restricted to some valleys.
Major Fauna
Mammals : Tiger, Leopard, Jungle Cat, Leopard Cat, Striped Hyena, Wild
Dog, Wolf, Common Mongoose, Sloth Bear, Pangolin, Spotted Deer, Sambar, Barking
Deer, Blue Bull, Wild Pig and Gaur etc.
Reptiles : Fresh water crocodile, Indian Chameleon, Common Krait, Indian
Rock Python, Cobra, Indian Flap Shell Turtle, Peninsular black turtle etc.
Fishes : Padhan, Jhunda, Sanbal, Chalar, Dadai, Mahur, Kunda, Mrigal,
Rohu, Calbasu and Mahasir etc.
» Managements
Practices, Achievements and Shortfalls
There were two forest villages, Alikatta and Chedia, within the core zone of
the Reserve. They were relocated in 1992 and 1994 to Durgapur and Khairanj respectively.
The vacated areas are now excellent grasslands and animals especially spotted
deer frequent these places in large number. Pyorthadi meadow which has been
created on periphery of the reservoir is a favoured refuge for many species
of wild animals during summer.
Sustained protection input of last 17 years has improved the habitat. Blue bull,
Barking deer and four-horned antelope are increasing.
A good degree of efforts have been made to create water sources in various parts
of the National Park. Due to poor water retention capacity of the soil, anicuts
and tanks do not serve the purpose as these water-bodies usually get dry by
the end of February. A few number of hand-pumps and artificial water holes have
been created. This has given excellent results to serve as artificial water
holes during the summer season, when the water is scarce. It has resulted in
enhanced use of those habitats, which were not being utilised by animals.
Pench Tiger Rserve Reservation Form
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