Pench National Park
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 range 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
hills, steeply sloping on the sides.
The reserve is situated in an area that holds a significant place in the natural
history of the Central India. The description of its natural beauty, richness
if 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 explicity present
the detailed panorama of nature's abundance in this tract.
An extensive forest belt extends in three directions, east and south, covering
forest tracts of Seoni, Balaghat and Nagpur districts. The contiguous forest
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 networkby the sane name as this Reserve. A dam has been constructed on
the Pench River on southeastern boundary of the Reserve.
The area is criss-cross 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 areasbut are
occasionally seen in deep forest also. Jungle cats are common seen. Leopard
cats Small Indian Civets and Palm Civets are common but seen rarely.
Wild dogs are commonly seen in packs of up 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 forst. Chinkara is present
in very small number and is found in open areas around Turia, Telia, and Dudhgaon
villages. Jackals are seen occasionally near Tekadi, Alikatta and Chhindimatta
villages,
Forest Types
Dry Teak Bearing Forest
Southern Dry Deciduous Mixed Forest.
