Pench National Park, nestling in the lower southern reaches of the satpuda hills is named after
Pench River, meandering through the park from north to south. It is located on the southern boundary of Madhya Pradesh, bordering Maharashtra, in the districts of Seoni and Chhindwara.Pench National Park, comprising 758 km2, out of which a core area of 299 km2 of Indira Priyadarshini Pench National Park and the Mowgli Pench Sanctuary and remaining 464 km2 of pench national park is the buffer area.The area of the present tiger reserve has a glorious history. A description of its natural wealth and richness occurs in Ain-i-Akbari.
Pench Tiger Reserve and its neighbourhood is the original setting of Rudyard Kipling's most famous work, The Jungle Book.
History:
Pench National Park is situated to the south of Satpura Hills. It is named so after the name of the river Pench which flows through this area. This is the 19th project tiger reserve in
India and was declared so in 1992. It has tropical moist deciduous forest.The area was declared as Pench national park(Maharashtra) by the Government of Maharashtra vide notification number R&F.D./1395/212768/F-1 dated 22-11-75 with an area of 257.26 square kilo meter. Government of India declared the area as Pench tiger reserve vide their notification number III(I)-25/98-PT dated 11-2-99.
Location:
The Pench National Park is located in Southern Madhya Pradesh in India, about 70 km from the city of Nagpur. Spread over an area of 275 km² 90% of area is in the neighbouring state of Madhya Pradesh rest 10% in Maharashtra.
Wildlife:
The prey concentration is highest along the banks of the river Pench. The Pench national park has a count of 8 tigers (as in 1998) and 7 panthers (as in 1998).This national park is rich with chitals i.e. axis axis or more commonly spotted deer. There are 10 villages in the national park - 1 inside the park (Fulzari) and 9 on the periphery.As per 2011 Tiger Census ; There are 25 tigers under this umbrella of the Park. 39 species of mammals, 13 species of reptiles, 3 species of amphibians. Apart from mammals and other land-based wildlife, the park is also rich in bird life. According to an estimation of the wildlife authorities, the bird population in the park counts to be over 210 species like barbets, bulbul, minivets orioles, wagtails, munias, mynas, waterfowls and blue kingfishers.
Visiting Times & Nearest Station:
The best time to visit the park is between February and April. The Park is open to visitors between 6 am to 10:30 am and 3 pm to 6 pm. The park remains closed during the months of July, August and September. It can be accessed by road as well as railway. The nearest rail-head is at Ramtek and a bus can be taken for the next 35 km to the Park. Other important natural forests in Maharashtra like the Nagzira Sanctuary and the Navegaon National Park are also close to Pench.
