Kanha forest is situated in Maikal hills of Satpura range in Madhya Pradesh which is the centre of the India map.The land is 450-950 meters above sea level and is drained by the tributaries of Narmada River. The regions closest to Kanha are mandla which is just 65 kms away and Jabalpur which is 160 kms away from Kanha.
History and Conservation of Kanha national Park
Kanha is said to be one of the best protected forest and one of the finest and best administered national parks in Asia and probably the best place to see the tigers in wild. It is an irresistible attraction for all wildlife lovers. Kanha spreads around 940sq.kms.It was declared as a forest in two parts the Banjar valley and Halon river valley, during the british rule these two valleys were reserved for hunting by the britishers.It comprised of a large number of swamp Deers and Barasingha, continous hunting of these animals led to its depletion and in the year 1931 hunting of animals was banned.
Kanha was a wild life sanctuary since 1933 and the area that it covered was only 250sq. kms. In 1935 the Halon valley around Supkhar with an area of 300kms was given the status of sanctuary and was attached to Kanha. With hunting being banned and protection given to the deer’s their population began to increase and they started damaging tree saplings and villager’s crops. So as a result the supkhar valley was denotified. The Banjar valley alone retained the sanctuary status.
In the year 1955 after independence the Banjar valley was given the status of a national park and only 318 sq. km was declared as a national park .but later on in the year 1973 when project Tiger was initially launched, nine tiger reserves were selected and one of them was the Kanha National Park.
Later on in the year 1976 it was expanded and the Mukki valley was added, 940sq.km became the core area which is free from biotic disturbances. 1005 sq.km came under the buffer zone which falls under four forest divisions:
• Mandla
• Balaghat
• Kawardha
• Dindori
These forests surround the core zone. The buffer zone is treated as multiple use area with 40% coming under the forest area and the rest is treated as a revenue land.The total conservation unit is 1945 sq. km is called Kanha Tiger Reserve.
Kanha comprises of Sal and Bamboo trees with rolling grasslands and meandering streams. The park is the only habitat of Barasingha and it became famous for timely conservation of Barasingha when its population had come down to only sixty six animals. George Schaller played a major role in its conservation.
Tags: kanha, kanha history, Kanha National Park
