| The moonlight was blocked out of the mouth of the cave, for Shere Khan's great square head and shoulders were thrust into the entrance. The tiger's roar filled the cave with thunder. Mother Wolf shook herself clear of the cubs and sprang forward, her eyes, like two green moons in the darkness, facing the blazing eyes of Shere Khan. |
| An extract from THE JUNGLE BOOK by Rudyard Kipling |
Romanticised by Kipling in his book, Kanha National Park is among the most spectacular, protected wildlife reserves of the world. The 1,945 sq. km National Park has been compared to N'Gorongoro National Park of Tanzania. However like its African cousin, Kanha is not a volcanic crater though the surrounding hills are a result of geographically ancient volcanic activity. Above all Kanha is far greener and more densely wooded than N'Gorongoro. It is one of the largest and best monitored Parks in the subcontinent and definitely one of the best places in the world to see the critically endangered tiger in the wild.
The great sal forests of Kanha National Park, stretching across Maikal hills of Satpura range, have given birth to many jungle adventures especially the much loved English classic by Rudyard Kipling - The Jungle Book. Kipling based his tale on the wildlife of Kanha in the late 19th century and thus Kanha is also known as 'Kipling Country'. The grassy plateaux, wooded hills and valleys of Kanha are home to the legendary Shere Khan the Tiger, loveable Baloo the Bear, wise Bagheera the Panther and the dreaded Rock Python Kaa. Besides them several great and small mammals, reptiles and birds inhabit the Park including the largest ox in the world - the Gaur.
The National Park is particularly notable, besides the tiger, for a 300lb, brown, large-antlered, hard-hoofed deer because of which the foundation of conservation and protection was laid in the Maikal hills. Even more zealously protected in Kanha is the southern or Central Indian race of the Swamp Deer - the Hard-ground or the Branderi Barasingha.
Birdlife of the region is equally astounding and more than 350 avian species have been recorded here with the possibility of sighting yet new races, thus giving the avid birdwatcher great scope for new discoveries. Mynas, Bush Chats, Kingfishers, Treepies, Orioles, Lapwings, Falcons, Kites, Owls, Vultures and various other species of our flying friends will provide unlimited hours of pleasure to those who choose to seek them.