Pench National Park In Mowgli’s Shadow

Situated in Madhya Pradesh Pench National Park is a pristine forest in the lap of Highlands of Central India. The jungle still lives in the shadow of Mowgli the wolf child and echoes the calls of Baloo the bear and roar of Baghira the Black Panther.

The legend Mowgli still lives in the heart of wildlife enthusiasts and the story tellers all over the World. The amazing movie made by Walt Disney created space for this esoteric tale of wolf child in the heart of India. This is a true story that was discovered by a British officer during the days of the Raj. Later on Kipling wrote "Jungle Book" on the exploits of this naked human in the company of wolves. Rest is history!

The National Park is a notified area and is a tiger reserve with prime focus on saving the species from extinction. It is home to many other animals like the wolf, wild dog, leopard, sloth bear, bison and deer. The langur, wild boar and spotted deer are common animals found all around the park. They are the prey base of the tiger and other carnivores.

Birds abound and more than two thousand fifty species including winter migrants live in the confines of the park. The Pench River nourishes the biodiversity and offer succor during the hot months of summer. Tigers live around the river and can be seen on tiger safari on open jeeps.

The target species is the tiger and wolf for it is here that the latter thrives in good numbers. The animal can be seen in the outskirts in the buffer zone as it is found in open scrub habitats. A trip has to be made in the buffer if you wish to see the wolf in fact lot many trips have to be made if you wish to see and photograph this predator in the wild. It is shy and elusive due to persecution faced at hands of men. The luxury hotel accommodations in Pench are situated in buffer. You can organize a trip for wolf sightings from the hotels.

There are a good number of big cats in the park, the reminiscence of Sher Khan as described in the Jungle Book. They can be seen with much ease if you make a three or four nights tour here. The sightings are very good at Pench and the local guides and naturalists are of great help. Being a successful conservation unit the numbers are increasing every year. This augurs a bright future for the big cats.

Wildlife watching takes place on open jeeps. The prerequisite is a safari permit issued by the Madhya Pradesh Government. Without a permit you cannot enter the park for excursions. Since a limited entry is allowed you should book permits much in advance to be assured of excursions.

The booking for tiger safari at Pench can be made online. At MP Online website a separate page exists for booking permits at the National Park. A fee has to be paid then and there and details of persons going on safari has to be filled in. Please carry the print out whence you arrive at the destination. Best route is via Nagpur in Maharashtra or from Jabalpur Airport in Madhya Pradesh in Central India.

Uday writes often on Indian wildlife especially about the tigers. He works as a naturalist and is fond of travel. Uday also provides search engine optimization service and website contents in English.