Central Indian Wildlife

Central India or Central provinces under the British Raj once teemed with wildlife and dense forests. The state of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh and to some extent Nagpur region once constituted Central India.

Being in center of India the states are landlocked but constitute quite a bit to the Nations economy. The chief source of income was earlier the minor forest produce and timber. But as the forest cover reduced the states began to rely on other income sources.

The forests of Central India were exploited drastically before and after Independence and consequently the wildlife decreased as well. The wildlife is now mostly limited to National Parks and Sanctuaries in these states.

The best National Parks in Central India are the Kanha National Park, Bandhavgarh National Park, Pench National Park in Madhya Pradesh. Barnawapara Sanctuary, Achanakmar Sanctuary and Indravati National Park are in Chhattisgarh state of India.

The prime animal is the tiger followed by leopard, bison, sambar and ubiquitous spotted deer. But this just a tip of the tail as the list goes over twenty two mammals, numerous reptiles and insects that thrive in these heavens.

Wildlife tourism is increasing in Kanha and Bandhavgarh tiger reserves. There are different categories of hotel accommodation at Bandhavgarh and Kanha from luxury to budget resorts. Most of the wildlife resorts have to be booked well in advance. The hotel accommodation at Pench is more on luxury and semi luxury resorts at present.

Chhattisgarh wildlife viewing is as popular at Barnawapara and Achanakmar sanctuaries although there are more wildlife destination in the state.

The best time for wildlife viewing is from October to June whence the parks remain open. For wildlife photography the best time is of course summer when tiger and other animals sightings increase and sunlight is at its optimum best.

The best places to see the tiger are Bandhavgarh and Kanha as the tiger density is very high there. The tourists infrastructure at these places are well developed to accommodate a large number of wildlife viewers and wildlife photographers. For wildlife lovers these are must see destinations in India.