Kanha
The Kanha National Park, in Madhya Pradesh, forms the core of the Kanha Tiger
Reserve created in 1974, under Project Tiger. Stretching over 940 sq km, the
vegetation, chiefly made of sal and bamboo forests, grasslands and streams,
this park is the sole habitat of the rare hardground barasingha.
The forests of the Banjar valley and Halon valley, respectively forming Kanha's
western and eastern halves, had even , at the turn of the century, been famous
for their deer and tiger population. By a special statute in 1955, Kanha National
Park came into being. Since then, a string of stringent conservation programmes
have been launched, for the overall protection of the park's fauna and flora.
It is one of the most well-maintained National Parks in Asia, and a major attraction
for avid wildlife buffs all over the world.
Kanha boasts of about 22 species of mammals. Some of the inhabitants of this
park are the gaur, the largest of the world's cattle; the sambar, the largest
Indian deer; and the chausingha, the only four-horned antelope in the world.
Other frequent visitors include the Nilgai antelope, the sloth bear, the dhole,
or Indian wild dog, and an occasional panther.
Some 200 species of birds inhabit the park, that include the cattle egret, black
ibis, hawk eagle, and the red-wattled lapwing. Shravantal is an old, earthenbound
tank in the central Kanha meadows, which happens to be an important watering
hole, for a large number of water fowl in winter. Bamni Dadar, known as Sunset
Point, is the most beautiful section of the park, and the view of the sunset
from this spot is absolutely mesmerising. Quite a few animals can be sighted
around this area which include the sambar, gaur, the four-horned antelope and
the barking deer.
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