Kanha national park – the inspiration behind “The Jungle Book”

Kanha National Park, the inspiration behind “The Jungle Book” is vast. So vast that the Safari looks like an inter district travel… loaded with lots of adventure. Like everyone else, I was keen to spot the tigers. In fact, I was even thinking of it as a tiger trail. But the diversity of Kanha, made me appreciate all the animals and birds.

The Tiger Trail

Let’s talk about the tiger chase first, which became a visit to the grand animal kingdom for me.  The  pugmarks are supposedly an indication that the tiger is around. So the driver tried to follow the pugmark and we kept moving around the jungle. During this chase, we came across herds of different types of deer families, Sambhar, Barasingha , Black buck, Chital, etc. All of them, oblivious to the world, were grazing on the leaves. That was a visual treat.

The guide was very confident , and he said lets go towards the water body. Tigers will come there to drink water. As we started moving in that direction, monkeys were making strange sounds. That is apparently a sort of alarm that the predator is around. So the chase started again. But it appeared to be a false alarm.

Since tigers are territorial, their area is kind of defined. So we decided to move into another direction. This time we were welcomed by another family of Gaur and  barking deer.  The naturalist cum guide was very knowledgeable. He asked us to shift focus to the aerial creatures.  I am not into birding and may not be accurate with the names. However, the trees were loaded with parakeets, Ibis, Hornbill, Owls and Kingfisher. All of them not together, of course, but on different trees along the trail.

The Tiger Sighting

Did we sight the tiger? Yes, finally after soaking in the jungle and it’s lovely creatures from birds to reptiles to mammals. When we had forgotten about the tigers, they were sitting right there by the Bamboo tree. The drive started as a chase for the tiger. And then got richer with various animals and birds. It ended with the sighting of the tiger. All cameras came out with the zoom option. The next few minutes were about the clicking sound from a distance. Not very exciting…

We got back to the resort with a lot of dust on our clothes and hair> But the effort and dust was nothing in front of the amazing wildlife of Kanha. Here’s a short summary about Kanha and its wildlife.

The Jungle

Kanha national park is dotted with Sal and bamboo trees. Besides, the rolling grasslands and water stream add to its beauty.  It is spread across an area of 940 square kilometres. This tiger reserve is home to over a thousand species of flowering plants. There are some aquatic plants in the lakes and many herbs , shrubs and climbers in the forest.

Animal Kingdom of Kanha

Kanha national park is known for the Royal Bengal Tigers. Apart from this there are many endangered species like bison, gaur, leopard etc. The jungle is lit up with the presence of different types of animals from the deer family. The spotted deer, sambar, antelope, mouse deer and barking deer are just a few. The unique species like Barasingha, swamp deer and blackbuck can be seen grazing in the forest. And there are many others. Like the fox, hyena, honey badger, Indian wolf, sloth bear, wild boars, jungle cat, langurs, macaque etc.

Beautiful Birds of Kanha National Park

There are more than 300 species of birds in Kanha.  Some of them are endemic to Madhya Pradesh and many are migratory birds. You can spot them in the streams and on the trees. Some of them are uncommon birds too. Like the Asian Paradise Flycatcher, White Bellied Drongo, Spangled Drongo, Tawny Babbler, etc.

Reptiles of Kanha National Park

These are not easily visible if you there just for a day. However, the forest is incomplete without these members. There are pythons, cobra, viper, monitor, garden lizard, etc, too.

Kanha is a very well managed national park. It is a great experience to witness these animals in their natural habitat. There is abundant food for both the predators and the prey which takes care of the diversity of this place.

Don’t miss the Kanha Museum

After enjoying the wildlife safari, do make it a point to visit the Kanha museum. It is informative and explains the topography, tribes, wild life and other activities of the park. And yes, you can find a lot of answers to your “Jungle book” queries.

How to reach Kanha National Park?

It is well connected with all the major cities of India via the Nagpur airport. One can also take the train route to reach Kanha. The nearest railway station for Kanha is either Jabalpur or Gondia.

When is a good time to visit Kanha National Park?

October to March is a good time to visit Kanha. The national park is closed from July to September due to monsoons.

For more such wildlife experiences, please read about some of the wildlife experiences in India 

In case you are keen on traveling to Kanha national park , you could take a look at the Madhya Pradesh itinerary and cover the Kanha national park as a part of this itinerary.

In case you are a nature lover, check out the natural wonders of India.

India is not just about wildlife. There are many more facets to this ancient land – culture, mystery, history, nature, mystery and so on. Read more about how the different facets of India travel are celebrated.