Land of the Striped Stalker: Wildlife of Madhya Pradesh
By Rajesh Gopal
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About this ebook
Land of the Striped Stalker: Wildlife of Madhya Pradesh presents a broad picture of the prominent tiger reserves, protected areas and flora and fauna of Madhya Pradesh. The information provided in this book will not only help visitors plan their trips to the protected areas and tiger reserves of Madhya Pradesh, but will also foster awareness about the ecological imperatives to protect the wildlife of
the region.
Rajesh Gopal
Rajesh Gopal served as Director, Bandhavgarh National Park and Field Director, Kanha Tiger Reserve for more than a decade.
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Land of the Striped Stalker - Rajesh Gopal
LAND of the
STRIPED
STALKER
Wildlife of Madhya Pradesh
LAND of the
STRIPED
STALKER
Wildlife of Madhya Pradesh
Text
Rajesh Gopal
Photographs
Rajesh Bedi
wisdom
tree Madhya Pradesh Tourism
First published in 2009 by
Wisdom Tree
4779/23
Ansari Road
Darya Ganj
New Delhi - 110002
Phone: 91 - 11 - 23247966/ 67/ 68
wisdomtreebooks@gmail.com
The project has been supported by Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation Limited.
Printed in India.
Text © Rajesh Gopal
Photographs © Rajesh Bedi; Madhya Pradesh Tourism: (p. 22-23, 26 right, 27, 28, 33, 34, 36, 39, 40, 42, 45, 46, 49 above, 52, 62, 68, 85, 86-87, back cover); C.C.F. (W.L) Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary (p. 56, 58); Jayanta Khan/Dinodia Images (p. 73). Maps: Kanha Publications (p.12); NTCA/WII (p. 18, 26, 32, 38, 44, 50, 53, 59, 61, 65); Project Tiger (p. 29, 35, 41, 47).
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of the author and the publisher.
ISBN 978-81-8328-153-9
Design: tiffinbox
Front cover: A tiger on the prowl at Kanha Tiger Reserve.
Back cover: A herd of Spotted deer graze contentedly in the golden afternoon light at Kanha Tiger Reserve.
CONTENTS Acknowledgements 7 Preface 8
Introducing the Tiger State 11 Tiger Reserves
Bandhavgarh 25 Kanha 31 Panna 37 Pench 43 Sanjay - Dubri 48 Satpura 51 Other Protected Areas
Kuno - Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary 57 Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary 60 Madhav National Park 63 Prominent Wildlife of Madhya Pradesh
Big Cats: Tiger and Leopard 69 Other Wildlife 75
Appendix I: Bird and Butterfly Species Found in Madhya Pradesh 88 Appendix II: Scientific Names of Prominent Wildlife 89 Hotel Listings 90
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Several colleagues have helped me in the preparation of this book, and it may not be possible
to list them all. I especially appreciate the encouragement and the help from Y.V. Jhala, Qamar
Qureshi, Rajesh Bedi, Naresh Bedi, H.S. Negi, Aseem Srivastava, S.P. Yadav, Gopa Pandey,
Sheetal Bisht, P.R. Sinha and Narendra Kumar.
LEFT
----------------------------
The grasslands of
Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve
are softly illuminated by the
early morning light.
PREFACE
Madhya Pradesh has a diversity of life forms owing to its rich, unique geographical and
climatic attributes. The large number of protected areas in the state highlight the concern
and efforts of the state government to conserve and protect its floral and faunal heritage. The
state is virtually a ‘tigerland’, and places like Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Pench, Satpura and the
nearby forests are home to the bulk of the population of tigers, their co-predators, prey and
habitat of Central India. I had the good fortune of working for over thirteen years in Kanha
and Bandhavgarh. Every day was a learning experience for me during these wonderful years,
which I would love to relive if given a chance!
This book is a modest effort to present a broad picture of the prominent protected areas, tiger
reserves and flora and fauna of Madhya Pradesh. However, the thrill of seeing a tiger in the
wild, or hearing the rutting call of a Barasingha stag, the alarm call of a Spotted deer or the
urgent calls of a peafowl are those moments which should best be experienced. The direct
sighting of a wild animal in its natural habitat is the best understanding of Nature.
The tiger is India’s iconic national animal. It widely inhabits forested and non-forested
natural habitats in seventeen states of India including Madhya Pradesh. Owing to its
significant ecological position, the conservation status of the tiger in our ecosystems signifies RIGHT
---------------------------- the status of their health. The good health of these ecosystems in turn signifies that the The rolling hills and verdant quality of ecological services rendered by them, including ensuring water security — critical to forested areas of Bandhavgarh
Tiger Reserve provide ample our survival and to sustainable development — is optimum. cover for a variety of wildlife.
This is unfortunately not the case. The degradation and fragmentation of forests and non-
forested natural areas across the length and breadth of our country reflects the decline in
ecological services. This is seen in the form of poor water regime and the loss of our unique
biodiversity. The decline has also undermined the productivity of the livestock of people
inhabiting the forested regions, further aggravating their impoverishment.
The need for conserving the tiger, other wild animals and their habitats must therefore be
seen in the light of these ecological imperatives. This calls for an integrated, holistic approach
towards tourism as well as managing land infrastructure, since such actions are
use. This uphill task can only be achieved by detrimental to tigers and other wild animals.
mainstreaming wildlife concerns in various The Government of India, state governments
types of land use operating in protected areas and various institutions