Pench Tiger Reserve or Pench National Park is one of the most well-known tiger reserves of India, and the first one to straddle across two states of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The portion of the reserve that is in Madhya Pradesh is nestled in the southern slopes of the Satpura range of Central India. Pench Tiger Reserve comprises the Indira Priyadarshini Pench National Park, the Pench Mowgli Sanctuary and a buffer zone.
Pench Tiger Reserve is the forest area portrayed in the famous children’s book “The Jungle Book” by famous writer Rudyard Kipling. It derives its name from its life line – the River Pench. Inside the park, the river flows from North to South before going on to join the Kanhan River, splitting the national park in two, and forming the boundary of Seoni District and Chhindwara District districts of Madhya Pradesh. The 147.61 km² Western Block falls in the Gumtara Range of Chhindwara Forest Division and 145.24 km² Eastern Block in the Karmajhiri Range of the Seoni Forest Division.
The Meghdoot dam built across Pench River at Totladoh has created a large water body of 72 km2 out of which 54 km2 falls in M.P. and the rest in Maharashtra. The Pench River which emerges from Mahadeo Hills of Satpuda Ranges and the various nallas and streams which drain into it, all flow through the protected forests area. The Satpuda ranges which bear the forests of the Protected Area act as an excellent watershed area for the Totladoh as well as lower Pench Reservoirs. During the 17th century, the Gond rulers of this region cleared large tracts of forests for cultivation and dwellings. This continued up to 1818 by the Marathas and later under the British. It was not until 1862 that efforts were made to control the indiscriminate destruction and the forests were declared reserved.
The Pench Sanctuary was created in September 1977, with an initial area of 449.39 km². The Pench National Park, recently renamed as Indira Priyadarshini Pench National Park, was created in 1983, carved out of the Sanctuary. The Tiger Reserve, 19th in the series, was formed under the Project Tiger scheme in November 1992. The Bor Wildlife Sanctuary and some adjacent protected areas are to be be merged with Pench Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra, as a ‘Satellite core area’, to more than double the area of tiger reserve.
‘Jungle Book’ and ‘Collarwali‘
The jungle is part of the 16th century Deogarh kingdom. The floral and faunal diversity of the jungle is well documented by the British since the late 17th century, which has been depicted in the fictional works of Rudyard Kipling, ‘The Jungle Book’ written in 1894 and ‘The Second Jungle Book’, are set in the region. Kipling himself never visited the jungle, instead basing his descriptions on other locations in India. The story was worldwide applauded, and hence, the national park became one of the most popular national parks in the world in the 1970s and also a prominent tourist attraction in India.
Collarwali, a daughter of Badi Mada another known tigress, starred with her mother in the BBC Wildlife Special Tiger: Spy in the Jungle, which popularised the Pench tiger reserve. She became one of India’s best known tigers, giving birth to 29 cubs in 8 litters by her death in January 2022 at the age of 16, a World Record. Born in 2005 and initially dubbed T-15, she acquired the moniker Collarwali or ‘The One With a Collar’ after she became the first tigress in the park to be fitted with a radio collar in 2008.
Unusually large for a female and because she was comparatively friendly, she was the most frequently seen tiger in the park. In 2010 she gave birth to an unusually large litter of 5 cubs due to which she was also called ‘Mataram’ or ‘Mother’. Records indicate 95% of cubs from her litters survived to adulthood and dispersed to other parts of Pench and some may have crossed over to other tiger reserves such as Kanha National Park. She died in January 2022 and was cremated ceremonially.
The National Park
On the Madhya Pradesh side, the Pench Tiger Reserve includes a core area of 411.33 km2, and a buffer of 768.3 km2.for total of 1179.63 km2.The core area includes the Mowgli Pench Wildlife Sanctuary spread over 118.30 km2. The is constituted by Reserve Forests, Protected Forests and Revenue land. Located south of the tiger reserve area in Madhya Pradesh, is the Pench Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra. On the Maharashtra side, the Pench Tiger Reserve has a core habitat area of 257.3 km2 along with a buffer/peripheral area under Mansinghdeo Sanctuary of 483.96 km2 for a total protected area 741.2 km2. Total protected region spread over Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra totals 1920 km2.
As of 2022 the number of tigers in Pench Tiger Reserve has increased up to 53 in core area and 80 more in buffer zone and additional area. The National Highway 44 (old NH 7), runs between Nagpur and Jabalpur along the eastern boundary of the reserve.
The tiger reserve lies in the southern lower reaches of the Satpura Range of hills on the southern border of Madhya Pradesh with a general undulating topography, characterised by small ridges and hills with steep slopes, with a number of seasonal streams and nullahs. The topography becomes flatter close to the Pench River. Most of the Tiger Reserve area falls under flat to gentle slope category. The forest receives rainfall of around 1400 mm per year. Several underpass and bridges have been built in the park on the nearly 40 km stretch of NH 44 including the wiorlds longest underpass to facilitate passage of wild animals without disturbing the human population or vehicular traffic movement.
The Pench Hydroelectric Project and dam constructed on the Pench River forms the State boundary between Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Because of this dam’s reservoir, around 54 km² of the Tiger Reserve on the Madhya Pradesh gets submerged after the monsoon rains. As summer approaches, these areas, from where the water gradually recedes downstream, become lush green meadows attracting large numbers of herbivores and carnivores who eat them. During summer, the Pench River dries out leaving small pools of water, which, besides the Pench reservoir, are the most important sources of water for the animals during this period. Artificial sources of water such as earthen tanks and check-dams also tend to dry out before the month of March, due to the inherent low water retention capacity of the soil.
Ecologically, Pench is categorized as a tropical moist deciduous tiger habitat. Teak and numerous other evergreen varieties of tree species like Terminalia arjuna, Syzygium cumini and Ixora parviflora are found in abundance in the forest area. Bamboo forests are found in the hill slopes and along streams. Some of the open patches of the reserve are covered with tall grasses along nullahs and river banks. Besides the Bengal tiger; other species like Indian leopard, dhole, jungle cat, Indian civet, wolves, Striped hyena, sloth bear, golden jackal, and common palm civet are found in good numbers. They have abundant sup-ply of prey that includes Chital, sambar, gaur, nilgai, wild pig, Indian muntjac, Barking deer, Chinkara and chowsingha. Besides these common langur, macaque, Indian porcupine, mongoose, and black-naped hare are also found throughout the jungle.
Tiger Safari
Pench National Park organizes tiger safari throughout the year according to the seasons except during the monsoon season, when the park remains shut for tourists. The park remains open from 16 October to the end of June. In the winter season safari timings are from 7:30 am to 10:30 am and 3:00 pm to 5:30 pm. In Summer season from March to June, the safari timing changes from 6:30 am to 9:30 am in morning and 4:00 pm to 6:30 pm in evening. Besides tiger safari, other major attractions of the park are guided jungle walks, jungle night safari, trekking, elephant ride, bird watching, wildlife viewing from machaan and village tours.
Only open top jeep safari is allowed, no private vehicles are allowed inside the park. Pench National Park is known for sighting of the animals and birds in their natural habitat making it a unforgettable experience for the lifetime for tourists. Tiger safari is carried out in zones falling under Madhya Pradesh namely the most famous Turia Zone and Karmajhiri Zone, as well as Wolf Sanctuary, Rukhad Zone, Jamtara Zone, Teliya Zone while in Maharashtra in the zones of Khursapar Zone, and Sillari Zone.
Accommodation
As per the safari zone, the tourist visits they have a multiple choice of hotels and resorts for accommodation in and around Pench National Park. These include Pench Jungle Camp, Tiger Corridor Resort, Baghvan Wildlife Resort, Jungle Home Pench, Nagzira Nature Camp, Tiger N Wood Resort, Mahua Vann Resort, Village Resort, Pench Tree Lodge, Nagzira Nature Camp, Jungle Home Pench, Tuli Tiger Corridor Resort, and Tiger Valley Resort. The tourists can enjoy luxurious mid-range and budget accommodations that can be booked as part of wildlife tour package beforehand.
Tourist Attractions in Pench National Park
- Sitaghat– a winding path that is close to the bank of river Pench, speckled with rocks and artistic looking trees. During summer season, white flowers and bushes lope all along with bank, it is must to visit in the early morning hours.
- Alikatta– a fascinating area of grassland, in evening it provides excellent view of grazing herds of spotted deer.
- Chhindimatta Road– a place of interest to watch leopard, eagles, buzzards, and hawks.
- Bodhanala Range– area worth sightseeing ffull of greenery, slopy hills, bamboo forest, lake; perfect for birdwatching.
Other tourist places/national park near Pench National Park are Bandhavgarh National Park just 339 Kms away; Kanha National Park just 136 kms; Nagzira National Park just 176.5 kms away; and Tadoba-Andhari National Park just 256.4 kms.
Best way to reach Pench National Park is from Nagpur in Maharashtra which is just 90 kms away and is well connected by road, rail and air with all major cities of India.
