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Bandhavgarh National Park

Coordinates: 23°41′58″N 80°57′43″E / 23.69944°N 80.96194°E / 23.69944; 80.96194
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Bandhavgarh National Park
A tigress in Bandhavgarh National Park
Map showing the location of Bandhavgarh National Park
Map showing the location of Bandhavgarh National Park
Location in Madhya Pradesh
Map showing the location of Bandhavgarh National Park
Map showing the location of Bandhavgarh National Park
Bandhavgarh National Park (India)
LocationUmaria district, Madhya Pradesh, India
Nearest cityUmaria
Coordinates23°41′58″N 80°57′43″E / 23.69944°N 80.96194°E / 23.69944; 80.96194
Area1,536 km2 (593 sq mi)
Established
  • 1968 (National Park)
  • 1993 (Tiger Reserve)
Visitors176,051 (in 2022)[1]
Governing bodyMadhya Pradesh Forest Department
forest.mponline.gov.in/

Bandhavgarh National Park is a national park of India, located in the Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh. It spreads over an area of 105 km2 (41 sq mi) and was declared a national park in 1968. It became Tiger Reserve in 1993 with a core area of 716 km2 (276 sq mi).

Bandhavgarh National Park has a breeding population of leopards and various deer species. Maharaja Martand Singh captured the first white tiger in this region in 1951.[2]

Geography

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Bandhavgarh Fort

Bandhavgarh National Park is located in the Umaria district of the state of Madhya Pradesh. Bandhavgarh National Park and Panpatha Wildlife Sanctuary form the core area of Bandhavgarh tiger reserve, which spreads over a total area of 716 km2 (276 sq mi). The total area of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve is 1,536 km2 (593 sq mi) including 716 km2 (276 sq mi) core and 820 km2 (320 sq mi) buffer area.[3] The three main zones of the national park are Tala, Magdhi and Khitauli.[4] The park derives its name from the Bandhavgarh Fort, which is said to have been given by Lord Rama to his brother Lakshmana to keep a watch on Lanka (Bandhav = Brother, Garh = Fort).[2]

Flora

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Bamboo forest in Bandhavgarh National Park

The vegitation in Bandhavgarh National Park is moist deciduous forest, sal mixed forest, northern dry mixed deciduous forest, dry deciduous scrub, dry grassland, and west Gangetic moist mixed deciduous forest.[3] It is a predominantly rugged and hilly area with sal and bamboo trees.[5]

Fauna

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A sambar deer stag
A leopard cub
Tiger in Bandhavgarh National Park

Bandhavgarh National Park is home to variety of wild animals including tiger, leopard, dhole, gaur, chital, sambar, nilgai, chinkara, Northern red muntjac, four-horned antelope, wild boar, sloth bear, striped hyena, Indian wolf, golden jackal, Indian fox, porcupine, jungle cat, Asiatic wildcat, fishing cat and rusty-spotted cat.[5] As per 2022 census, there were 135 tigers in the park.[6]

Reintroduction of gaur

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In 2012, the gaur was reintroduced from Kanha National Park.[7] Bandhavgarh National Park had a small population of gaur, but due to disease passed from cattle to them, all of them died. The project of reintroduction of gaurs dealt with shifting some gaurs from Kanha National Park to Bandhavgarh. 50 animals were transferred in 2012. This project was executed by Madhya Pradesh Forest department, Wildlife Institute of India and Taj Safaris by technical collaboration.[8]

Elephants

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In the summer of 2018, a herd of 40-45 migrant elephants made their way into the sprawling landscape of Bandhavgarh from the neighboring state of Chhattisgarh. Madhya Pradesh did not have a resident elephant population for over a century till 2018. The last of record was from 1905, in the Amarkantak region of the Anuppur district.[9] In October 2024, a total of 10 elephants died consuming mycotoxins associated with the Kodo millet.[10]

Birds

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Long-billed vulture
Brown fish owl in Bandhavgarh

Birds recorded in Bandhavgarh National Park include red jungle fowl, Indian peafowl, Greater coucal, Indian roller, Indian grey hornbill, rock pigeon, common myna, little egret, cattle egret, great egret, black drongo, pond heron, common snipe, Indian robin, large-billed crow, yellow-crowned woodpecker, white-throated kingfisher, common kingfisher, Asian green bee-eater, red-vented bulbul, long-billed vulture, crested serpent eagle, brown fish owl, Malabar pied hornbill, rufous woodpecker, crested hawk eagle, Oriental turtle dove, white-rumped vulture, long-tailed shrike, black ibis, white-necked stork, Tickell's flowerpecker, little cormorant, white-tailed swallow, shikra, jungle myna, lesser spotted eagle, great cormorant, pied kingfisher, Bonelli's eagle, Indian jungle crow, Asian pied starling and duck species.[5]

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The BCC documentary Dynasties (2018 TV series) was shot in the Bandhavgarh National Park, which was about four-year long journey of the tigress Raj Bhera.[11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "15L tourists visited MP's 11 national parks till July". The Times of India. 2022. Archived from the original on 30 September 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  2. ^ a b Lanz, T. J. (2009). The Life and Fate of the Indian Tiger. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 121. ISBN 9780313365492. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  3. ^ a b Rather, T.; Kumar, S.; Khan, J. l (2020). "Multi-scale habitat selection and impacts of climate change on the distribution of four sympatric meso-carnivores using random forest algorithm". Ecological Processes. 9: 3. doi:10.1186/s13717-020-00265-2.
  4. ^ "Holding fort at Bandhavgarh Wildlife Sanctuary". The Hindu. 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
  5. ^ a b c Abram, D.; Edwards, N.; Ford, M.; Jacobs, D.; Meghji, S.; Sen, D.; Thomas, G. (2013). The Rough Guide to India. Rough Guides Limited. p. 586. ISBN 9781409342618.
  6. ^ "Roaring Tiger Numbers In MP, But Murmurs Of Concern Over Management". Times of India. 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
  7. ^ "Gaurs make grand return to Sanjay-Dubri Tiger Reserve after 25 yrs. It's a 'Made in MP' feat". The Print. 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  8. ^ "Reintroduction of Gaur (Indian Bison) in Bandhavgarh National Park". Archived from the original on 2013. Retrieved 2012-04-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archive-date= (help)
  9. ^ "Elephants re-colonise Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, helped by the local community". The Hindu. 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
  10. ^ "Death toll of wild elephants rises to 10 at MP's Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve". The New Indian Express. 2024. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  11. ^ "BBC Natural History Unit captures the four-year-long journey of the Bandhavgarh National park's tigress Raj Bhera". New Indian Express. 29 July 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bandhavgarh National Park.

Bandhavgarh travel guide from Wikivoyage

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