| Feature |
Pench National Park |
Kanha National Park |
| Forest location |
It is spread over Seoni and Chhindwara districts of Madhya Pradesh state and Nagpur district of Maharashtra state.
Coordinates: 21.7450 N, 79.3374 E |
It is spread over Mandla and Balaghat districts of Madhya Pradesh state.
Coordinates: 22.2995 N, 80.5864 E |
| Where in Madhya Pradesh ? |
It lies in southern part of Madhya Pradesh state. |
It lies in south-east part of Madhya Pradesh state. |
| Geographical Position |
Pench forest is spread over Satpura range of Central India at south-west of Kanha tiger reserve. |
Kanha forest is spread over Maikal-Satpura range of Central India at north-east of Pench tiger reserve. |
| Declaration as Tiger reserve |
In year 1998-99 |
In year 1973-74 with the launch of Project tiger. It is older than Bandhavgarh. |
| Tiger reserve area |
411.33 sq.km. (Core area)+ 768.30 sq.km. (Buffer area) = 1179.63 sq.km. |
917.43 sq.km. (Core area)+ 1134.36 sq.km. (Buffer area) = 2051.79 sq.km. |
| Airport connectivity |
Its nearby airport options are at Nagpur, Gondia and Jabalpur. |
Its nearby airport options are Raipur, Nagpur, Gondia, Jabalpur. |
| Forest type |
Pench forest is classified into 3 types: South Indian Tropical Moist Deciduous, Southern Tropical Dry Deciduous Teak forest and Southern Dry Mixed Deciduous forest. |
Kanha forest is classified into 3 types: Moist Peninsular Sal forest, Southern Tropical Moist Mixed Deciduous forest, Southern Tropical Dry Mixed Deciduous forest. |
| Topography |
It is combination of hilly tracts with plain forests areas. Meadow areas are less. |
It is more hilly with undulating surface thus animals tracking & sighting is comparatively challenging. Still its meadows are better than Pench. |
| River system |
Pench forest lies in between Pench river and Wainganga river. |
Kanha tiger reserve forest is spread over Banjar and Hallon river valleys. |
| High season |
From Nov to mid of June. Here weekend crowd from Nagpur city keep it full in all seasons. |
From Dec to mid of June. |
| Low season |
Mid of June to Oct. |
July to Sept. |
| Tiger population |
Tiger population is less than Kanha tiger reserve |
Tiger population is more than Pench tiger reserve |
| Herbivores density |
Its herbivores animals density is more than Kanha tiger reserve thus more opportunity for wildlife photography. |
Its herbivores density is less than Pench tiger reserve |
| Big cats sighting probability |
Higher than Kanha national park. In addition to tigers, here leopard sighting chances are far better than Kanha forest. |
Among Big cats sighting, tiger sighting probability is higher than leopards. Here tiger only remains in focus. |
| Top 5 attractions |
Tiger, leopard, sloth bear, Indian langurs, wild dogs |
Hard-ground Barasingha, tiger, sloth bear, Indian gaur, wild dogs |
| Core safari zones |
Touria zone, Karmajhiri zone, Jhamtara zone, Khursapar zone, Sillari zone |
Kanha zone, Mukki zone, Kisli zone, Sarhi zone |
| Buffer safari zones |
Rukhad zone, Masurnala zone, Teliya zone, Khawasa zone, Khumbhpani zone |
Khatia zone, Khapa zone, Sijhora zone |
| Night safari experience |
At Pench tiger reserve, good night safari experience can be obtained at Khawasa zone and Rukhad zone |
Here only Khatia zone night safari is worth to undertake. |
| Safari achievements |
Here jeep safari experience is good for tigers, sloth bears, leopards and Malabar pied hornbills, green pigeon, flame-backed woodpecker |
Kanha safari is good for sighting of hard-ground barasingha, Indian gaur, tigers, sloth bear, vultures. |
| Scenic beauty |
Its scenic beauty is at its best from Oct to March. Later due to summer season, forest looks dry and dull. |
Its scenic beauty is best throughout the year due to dominance of Sal trees thus jungle looks green in all season. |
| Birdwatching experience |
Here prominent birding attractions are Red junglefowl, Grey junglefowl, Malabar pied hornbill, Greater racket-tailed drongo, Yellow footed pigeon |
Here prominent birding attractions are Black-winged kite, Racket-tailed drongo, Crested serpent eagle, White rumped Vulture, Grey francolin. |
| Popular hotel cluster hotspots |
Near Touria gate, Karmajhiri gate |
Near Khatia gate, Mukki gate, Sarhi gate |
| Park management & conservation history |
Here park management effectiveness is average with no great conservation history but it is the tiger reserve which gave tigers to other reserve but didn't required any species re-introduction till now. |
Its park management effectiveness is very good with great conservation history of hard-ground barasingha and practices. |
| Re-introduced species |
Nil |
Black buck |
| Historical background |
Pench forest history is popularly associated wtih Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Book". It was controlled by Gond rulers of Deogarh. |
It was under control of Gond dynasty. Later controlled by British India government. British officials did hunting in this forest. No such historical buildings visible during safaris. |
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