Panna Tiger Reserve

The devastating impact of the Ken-Betwa river linkage project on the Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Madhya Pradesh.

Panna Tiger Reserve:

• Panna National Park in Madhya Pradesh, a popular tourist spot for wildlife lovers has been declared as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
• A prime tiger-land Located in Vindhyan Hills in northern Madhya Pradesh.
• Covering an area of approx 542.67 sq km, the thick deciduous forest of the Panna National Reserve is the natural habitat of sloth, Indian wolf, Bear Pangolin, Leopard, Gharial, Indian fox and a lot more.
• Fragile though dynamic dry deciduous forest.
• Characterised by extensive plateaus and gorges.
• Land of mesmerising waterfalls.
• Naturals and archaeological splendour.
• Land of legends and cultural richness.
• The land of the Ken river, which lends it unparalleled beauty.
• The northern most boundary of natural distribution to teak (Tectona grandis).
• The eastern limit of teak-kardhai (Anogeissus pendula) mixed forests.
• Links the eastern and western populations of wild animals through the NE-SW running Vindhyan Hill ranges.
• The most important protected area in the north-central highlands of india.
• Tiger Reintroduction Project started in 2009 by bringing five female and two male felines from Bandhavgarh and Kanha national parks.
• The Panna National Park got the status of Project Tiger Reserve 13 years after its formation in 1981. Report by the All India Tiger Estimation made Madhya Pradesh the state with the highest number of tigers. The state had a total of 526 big cats according to 2018 census. After Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttarakhand have the highest number of tigers. 

Read also Critical Tiger Habitat CWH