Panna National Park
Encyclopedia
Panna National Park is a national park
located in Panna
and Chhatarpur
districts of Madhya Pradesh
in India. It has an area of about 543 square miles (1,406 km²). The terrain in Panna National Park is undulating and heavily forested with many streams and waterfalls.
Among the animals found here are the chital
, the chinkara
, the sambhar
and the sloth bear
. It is also a tiger
reserve. The park is home to more than 200 species of birds including the Bar-headed Goose
, the Honey Buzzard
, the King Vulture
and the Blossom-headed Parakeet
.
Panna was given the Award of Excellence in 2007 – the best maintained tourist friendly National Park of the country by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.
in India. The decline of tiger population in Panna has been reported several times, thus two female tigers were relocated there from Bandhavgarh National Park
and Kanha National Park
in March 2009. However, the last male tiger disappeared meanwhile. It seems that the entire tiger population has been wiped out by poaching going inside the tiger reserve and forest officials were involved in this poaching. A committee to look into the disappearance of tigers was formed. In June 2009, it was officially announced that the Reserve which had over 40 tigers six years ago, has not tiger left and only two tigress, which too were brought in a while ago The Ministry of Environment and Forests
(MoEF) has cleared a proposal to translocate two tigers and two tigresses to the reserve. A young tiger male that was moved from Pench Tiger Reserve
strayed out of the park shortly after in November 2009, but it was brought back to the park about a month later. The tigress, translocated from Bandhavgarh, gave birth to three cubs in April 2010. However, these cubs were killed by their father, possibly as a result of interventions by the monitoring team. The tigress, translocated from Kanha, gave birth to two cubs several months later. The third tigress was translocated to Panna from Kanha National Park in March 2011.
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
located in Panna
Panna District
Panna district is a district of the Sagar Division, within the Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The town of Panna is the district headquarter.-History:...
and Chhatarpur
Chhatarpur District
Chhatarpur District is a district of Madhya Pradesh state of central India. The town of Chhatarpur is the district headquarters.-Geography:Chattarpur district located at 24.06° & 25.20°N 78.59° & 80.26° E respectively...
districts of Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
in India. It has an area of about 543 square miles (1,406 km²). The terrain in Panna National Park is undulating and heavily forested with many streams and waterfalls.
Among the animals found here are the chital
Chital
The chital or cheetal , also known as chital deer, spotted deer or axis deer is a deer which commonly inhabits wooded regions of Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and in small numbers in Pakistan...
, the chinkara
Chinkara
The Chinkara is a species of gazelle found in south Asia.-Habitat and Distribution:It lives in grasslands and desert areas in India, Bangladesh and parts of Iran and Pakistan...
, the sambhar
Sambar Deer
The Sambar ' is a large deer native to southern and southeast Asia. Although it primarily refers to R. unicolor, the name "Sambar" is also sometimes used to refer to the Philippine Deer and the Rusa Deer...
and the sloth bear
Sloth Bear
The sloth bear , also known as the labiated bear, is a nocturnal insectivorous species of bear found wild within the Indian subcontinent. The sloth bear evolved from ancestral brown bears during the Pleistocene and shares features found in insect-eating mammals through convergent evolution...
. It is also a tiger
Bengal Tiger
The Bengal tiger is a tiger subspecies native to the Indian subcontinent that in 2010 has been classified as endangered by IUCN...
reserve. The park is home to more than 200 species of birds including the Bar-headed Goose
Bar-headed Goose
The Bar-headed Goose is a goose which breeds in Central Asia in colonies of thousands near mountain lakes and winters in South Asia, as far south as peninsular India. It lays three to eight eggs at a time in a ground nest....
, the Honey Buzzard
Honey Buzzard
The European Honey Buzzard , is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, eagles and harriers....
, the King Vulture
King Vulture
The King Vulture is a large bird found in Central and South America. It is a member of the New World vulture family Cathartidae. This vulture lives predominantly in tropical lowland forests stretching from southern Mexico to northern Argentina, though some believe that William Bartram's Painted...
and the Blossom-headed Parakeet
Blossom-headed Parakeet
The Blossom-headed Parakeet is a parrot which is a resident breeder in northeast India eastwards into Southeast Asia. It undergoes local movements, driven mainly by the availability of the fruit and blossoms which make up its diet....
.
Panna was given the Award of Excellence in 2007 – the best maintained tourist friendly National Park of the country by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.
Tiger population
Panna National Park is also referred to as a Tiger Reserve since it comes under the aegis of Project TigerProject Tiger
Project Tiger was launched in 1972 in India. The project aims at ensuring a viable population of tigers in their natural habitats and preserving areas of biological importance as a natural heritage for the people. The selection of areas for the reserves represented as close as possible the...
in India. The decline of tiger population in Panna has been reported several times, thus two female tigers were relocated there from Bandhavgarh National Park
Bandhavgarh National Park
Bandhavgarh National Park is one of the popular national parks in India located in the Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh. Bandhavgarh was declared a national park in 1968 with an area of 105 km². The buffer is spread over the forest divisions of Umaria and Katni and totals 437 km²...
and Kanha National Park
Kanha National Park
Kanha National Park is a national park and a Tiger Reserve in the Mandla and Balaghat districts of Madhya Pradesh, India. In the 1930s, Kanha area was divided into two sanctuaries, Hallon and Banjar, of 250 and 300 km² . Kanha National Park was created on 1 June, 1955. Today it stretches over an...
in March 2009. However, the last male tiger disappeared meanwhile. It seems that the entire tiger population has been wiped out by poaching going inside the tiger reserve and forest officials were involved in this poaching. A committee to look into the disappearance of tigers was formed. In June 2009, it was officially announced that the Reserve which had over 40 tigers six years ago, has not tiger left and only two tigress, which too were brought in a while ago The Ministry of Environment and Forests
Ministry of Environment and Forests
The Ministry of Environment and Forests is an Indian government ministry. The Minister of Environment and Forests holds cabinet rank as a member of the Council of Ministers...
(MoEF) has cleared a proposal to translocate two tigers and two tigresses to the reserve. A young tiger male that was moved from Pench Tiger Reserve
Pench Tiger Reserve
The Pench Tiger Reserve is located in the Seoni and Chhindwara districts, southern Madhya Pradesh, central India.-Introduction:The Reserve gets its name from the Pench River that flows through it, North to South, covering a distance of about 74 km through the Reserve...
strayed out of the park shortly after in November 2009, but it was brought back to the park about a month later. The tigress, translocated from Bandhavgarh, gave birth to three cubs in April 2010. However, these cubs were killed by their father, possibly as a result of interventions by the monitoring team. The tigress, translocated from Kanha, gave birth to two cubs several months later. The third tigress was translocated to Panna from Kanha National Park in March 2011.
External links
- http://www.pannatigerreserve.in
- Article at The Pioneer