|
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.
|
