Panna Tiger Reserve – The Tiger Reserve

Panna Tiger Reserve – The Tiger Reserve

The tiger reserve covers an area of about 1645.08 sq. kms. The core area is about 542.66 sq. kms and the buffer area is about 1002.42 sq. kms. The Khen Gharial sanctuary is about 78.53 sq. kms and Gangau wildlife sanctuary is about 45.20 sq. kms. The reserve is located on either side of Ken river which flows from south to north through the Lower Vindhyan Formations within the park. The Ken river, which flows through the reserve from south to north, is home for Gharial and Mugger, and other aquatic fauna and is one of the least polluted rivers and a tributary of Yamuna.

It is one of the sixteen perennial rivers of Madhya Pradesh and is truly the life line of the Reserve. The terrain of the reserve is characterized by extensive plateaus and gorges. The reserve which has a bench topography, can broadly be divided into three distinct tablelands on Panna side namely the upper Talgaon Plateau, the middle Hinnauta plateau and the Ken valley. A series of undulating hills and plateaus rise on the other side of Ken river in Chhatarpur district.

The forests of the tiger reserve along with Ken Gharial Sanctuary and adjoining territorial divisions form a significant part of the catchment area of the river Ken with a total length of 406 km runs for about 72 kms through this catchment. The tiger reserve along with the surrounding territorial forest area of North and South Panna divisions is the only large chunk of wildlife habitat remaining in North Madhya Pradesh in otherwise fragmented forest landscape of the area. Panna National Park represents one of the important Tiger habitats of Central Indian Highlands along with its associated species.

Flora:

The tiger reserve is situated at a point where the continuity of the tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests belt, which starts from Cape Comorin in South India, is broken and beyond this the Upper Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests of the great Indo-Gangetic Plain begins. This area is the northernmost tip of the natural teak forests and the easternmost tip of the natural Kardhai (Anogeissus pendula) forests. The dry and hot climate, in union with shallow Vindhyan soils has given rise to dry teak and dry mixed forest. The dominating vegetation type is miscellaneous dry deciduous forest interspersed with grassland areas.

Other major forest types are riverines, open grasslands, open woodlands with tall grasses and thorny woodlands. The dominant trees found here are Tectona grandis, Diospyros melanoxylon, Madhuca indica, Buchnania latifolia, Anogeissus latifolia, Anogeissus pendula, Lannea coromandelica, Bosswelia serrata etc. The important shrub found here Lantana camera, Grewia sp., Nyctanthus arbortristis, Ixora sp., Zyziphus mauritiana, Zyziphus oenoplea, etc. The dominant grass species are Apluda mutica, Themeda quadrivalvis, Meteropogon contortus, Arishtida sp. etc.

Fauna:

The mammals found in the reserve are tiger, leopard, wild dog, wolf, hyaena, caracal, rusty-spotted cat, Asian palm civet, sloth bear, sambar, chital, chausingha, nilgai, and chinkara. The reserve is home to more than 200 species of birds. Some of the birds found in the reserve are white necked stork, bar headed goose, crested honey buzzard, Indian vulture, blossom headed parakeet, paradise flycatcher, Slaty headed Scimitar babbler, red-headed vulture, and changeable hawk-eagle. The reserve is also home to variety of reptiles including the python.

Panna Tiger Reserve – Safari

Panna Tiger Reserve – Safari

Safari Zones:

The tiger reserve consists of mainly two zones, namely core zones and buffer zones. The zones are divided according to the animal movements. The core zones have higher animal movement while the buffer zones have lesser animal movement. There are two core zones namely Madla and Hinauta and three buffer zones namely Akola, Harsa and Khajurikudar in this reserve. All these three zones are accessible through Jeep safaris.

Core Area Safari Timings:

Winter Season (Oct – Feb):

The safaris are allowed from sunrise till 11. 00 AM in the mornings and 03.00 PM till sunset in the evenings.

Summer Season (Mar – Sep):

The safaris are allowed from sunrise till 11. 00 AM in the mornings and 04.00 PM till sunset in the evenings.

Buffer Area Safari Timings:

Winter Season (Oct – Feb):

The safaris are allowed from sunrise till 11. 00 AM in the mornings and 3.00 PM till sunset in the evenings.

Summer Season (Mar – Sep):

The safaris are allowed from sunrise till 11. 00 AM in the mornings and 04.00 PM till sunset in the evenings.

Night Safari:

Night safaris are allowed in the buffer area. The safaris are allowed from 06.00 PM to 09.00 PM.

Park Entry Fees:

For brief details, please refer below link;

https://explore-natural-beauty-of-india.blogspot.com/2024/07/panna-tiger-reserve-park-entry-fees.html

Panna Tiger Reserve – Park Entry Fees

Panna Tiger Reserve – Park Entry Fees

Single seat permit (Light Motor Vehicles and Mini Bus):

Core General Rates:

·      Indian: Rs 400

·      Foreigner: Rs. 800

Core Premium Rates:

·      Indian: Rs. 500

·      Foreigner: Rs. 1000

Buffer Rates:

·      Per person: Rs. 200

Full vehicle permit (Maximum of 6 persons):

Core General Rates:

·      Indian: Rs 2400

·      Foreigner: Rs. 4800

Core Premium Rates:

·      Indian: Rs. 3000

·      Foreigner: Rs. 6000

Buffer Rates:

·      Per vehicle: Rs. 1200

Full vehicles permit in buffer zone in mini bus (Maximum of 20 persons):

·      Per vehicle: Rs. 4800

Guide Fees:

·      Core: Rs. 480 per trip

·      Buffer: Rs 480 per trip

Please note that the vehicles used for the safari should be registered with the park management.

Pandav Falls Entry Fees:

·      Guide Fee: Rs. 100

·      On foot or bicycle: Rs. 25 per person

·      For two wheelers: Rs. 50 for two persons

·      For three wheelers: Rs. 100 for three persons

·      For four wheelers: Rs. 150 for six persons

·      For mini bus: Rs. 300 for twenty persons

Raneh Falls Entry Fees:

·      Guide Fee: Rs. 125

·      On foot or bicycle: Rs. 50 per person

·      For two wheelers: Rs. 100 for two persons

·      For three wheelers: Rs. 200 for three persons

·      For four wheelers: Rs. 300 for six persons

·      For mini bus: Rs. 600 for twenty persons

Panna Tiger Reserve – History

Panna Tiger Reserve – History

Panna National Park was created in 1981. The National Park consists of areas from the former Gangau Wildlife Sanctuary created in 1975. This sanctuary comprised of territorial forests of the present North and South Panna Forest Division to which a portion of the adjoining Chhatarpur forest division was added later. The reserved forests of the Park in Panna district and some protected forests on Chhatarpur side were the hunting preserves of the erstwhile rulers of Panna, Chhatarpur and Bijawar princely states in the past.

Panna National Park was declared as one of the Tiger reserves in India in 1994 and placed under the protection of Project Tiger. Panna was given the Award of Excellence in 2007 as the best maintained national park of India by the Ministry of Tourism of India. It is notable that by 2009, the entire tiger population had been eliminated by poaching with the collusion of forest department officials. Two female tigers were relocated from Bandhavgarh National Park and Kanha National Park to Panna National Park in March 2009.

It was officially announced in June 2009 that the reserve, which had over 40 tigers six years earlier, had no tigers left and only two tigresses, which were brought in a little earlier. The entire tiger population of the reserve was considered eliminated in February 2012. The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) approved a proposal to translocate two tigers and two tigresses to the reserve. One female each from Bandhavgarh National Park (coded T1) and Kanha National Park (T2) were translocated to Panna Tiger Reserve.

A tiger male, coded T3, was brought from Pench Tiger Reserve but strayed out of the park shortly thereafter, in November 2009. The tiger started walking towards its home in Pench National Park, indicating a homing instinct. It moved steadily through human dominated landscape without causing any conflict. Forest department staff tracked it continuously for over a month and finally brought it back to the Panna Tiger Reserve. It then settled well, established territory, and started mating.

The tigress, T1, translocated from Bandhavgarh National Park, gave birth to four cubs in April 2010 of which 2 survive till date. The second tigress, T2, translocated from Kanha National Park gave birth to four cubs several months later and all four survive till date. A third tigress, coded T4, an orphaned cub was reintroduced to Panna in March 2011. She learnt hunting skills with the help of the male and mated with him. She was found dead on 19 September 2014 of an infection caused by its radio collar. Her sister T5 was released in Panna in November 2011. The Panna Biosphere Reserve was designated in 2020 by UNESCO.

Effect of Ken Betwa River Linking Project:

The Government of India along with Government of Madhya Pradesh and Government of Uttar Pradesh have planned to link the Ken River with Betwa River. This involves construction of 283m long Daudhan Dam. The project aims to transfer excess water from the Ken basin to Betwa basin thus provide water access to the drought prone region of Bundelkhand. This construction will cause inundation of 400 hectares of land of 4300-hectare Panna Tiger reserve. Environmentalists are afraid that this will adversely affect the population of tigers in the region.

Ken Gharial Sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh

Ken Gharial Sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh

Ken Gharial Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary located in Panna and Chhatarpur Districts of Madhya Pradesh, India. The sanctuary is situated at the confluence of the Ken River and Khudar River. The sanctuary derives its name from the six-meter-long fish-eating Gharial, a rare species of crocodile. This sanctuary is a part of Panna National Park. It is located to the northeast of the Khajuraho temples and north of Panna National Park. It is usually visited along with the Raneh Falls site nearby.

History

The sanctuary was established in 1981 for the conservation of gharial crocodiles.

The Wildlife Sanctuary

The sanctuary is situated at the confluence of the Ken River and Khudar River. The sanctuary covers an area of about 45.202 sq. kms. The sanctuary is situated along a 45 km (28 mi) long stretch of the Ken River. This sanctuary is part of the Panna National Park. The sanctuary is famous for its six-meter-long fish-eating Gharial, a rare species of crocodile. The sanctuary is part of the Gharial Conservation association where captive bred gharials are released to help regenerate the gharial ecosystem. The river valleys in this sanctuary are built on the Ken River with a series of slopes 100 to 150 feet deep.

The valleys here are spectacular and famously called the Greatest Canyon of India. The sanctuary comprises of dry deciduous forest. The trees found in the sanctuary are Teak, Seja, Salai, Gunja, Flame of Forest (Palash), Khair etc. The sanctuary is known for Gharials, a six-meter-long fish-eating crocodile species.  The animals found in this sanctuary are Sloth Bear, Leopard, Wolf, Nilgai (Blue Bull), Dholes, Chinkara, Chital, Spotted Deer, Jackal, Indian Fox, Wild Boar, Hyena, Langur, Monitor Lizard, Snakes and Peacock. 

The sanctuary has an ancient, ruined palace of the rulers of princely state of Bundelkhand. They used to stay in this palace during their hunting expedition. It is open for visitors from October to June month. It is closed to visitors in monsoon season. It can be visited from sunrise to sunset, but boating spots and timings are fixed. The boating trip at Muhareghat is from 07.00 AM to 09.00 AM and 04.00 PM to 05.00 PM. Trained guides are mandatory to visit this sanctuary and provided by the Forest Department.

Entry Fees

·      Rs 50 for cyclists

·      Rs. 200 for bike riders (2 persons)

·      Rs.400 for three wheelers

·      Rs.600 (6 persons) for four wheelers

·      Rs. 1200 for mini buses (20 Persons)

Connectivity

The sanctuary is located at about 21 Kms from Khajuraho, 22 Kms from Khajuraho Bus Stand, 23 Kms from Rajnagar Railway Station, 25 Kms from Madla, 26 Kms from Khajuraho Airport, 27 Kms from Khajuraho Junction Railway Station, 44 Kms from Panna and 53 Kms from Chhatarpur. The sanctuary is situated at about 25 Kms to the north of Madla on the Panna to Chhatarpur route. Buses are available from Khajuraho to this sanctuary every one hour.

Location