Panna
National Park is located in the Vindhyan tracts of Madhya
Pradesh this 540km2 National Park holds some of the
most dramatic forest patches and ruggedly breathtaking
scenery of peninsular India. The Ken river coursing
through Panna National Park embellishes the countryside
with its aquamarine waters and along with a few perennial
springs is an important source of drinking water for
the animals. Alternating valleys and plateaux, grassy
maidans (fields), steep gorges and sheer escarpments
down which sheets of sparkling curtains of aqua roll
down present eye popping vistas all around. For a relative
small park, Panna packs in quite a punch with an impressive
array of representatives from the "critters club".
Mammals
Tiger
(Panthera tigris tigris), the king of the jungle, roams
freely in this secure, though a bit small habitat alongwith
his fellow beings – leopard (Panthera pardus),
wild dog (Cuon alpinus), wolf (Canis lupus), hyaena
(Hyaena hyaena) and caracal (Felus caracal) and smaller
cats. Sloth bear has his most favourite home in the
rock escarpments and undisturbed vales. The wooded areas
are dotted with sambar the largest of Indian deers,
chital and chowsingha. One can easily see nilgai and
chinkara in most open areas in the grasslands, specially
on the periphery.
Avifauna The
avifauna comprises more than 200 species, including
a host of migratory birds. One can see white necked
stork, barheaded goose, honey Buuzzard, King vulture,
Blossom headed Parakeet, Paradise flycatcher, Slaty
headed Scimitar babbler to name a few.
Reptiles Varieties of snakes, including the python
and other reptiles are found here.
Flora
Dry
and hot climate, in union with shallow Vindhyan soils
has given rise to dry Teak and dry mixed forest. The
dominating vegetation type is miscellaneous dry deciduous
forest inter spread with grassland areas. Other major
forest types are riverines, open grasslands, open woodlands
with tall grasses and thorny woodlands. The characteristic
floral species of this area include tree species such
as Tectona grandis, Diospyros melanoxylon, Madhuca indica,
Buchnania latifolia, Anogeissus latifolia, Anogeissus
pendula, Lannea coromandelica, Bosswelia serrata etc.
Other Attractions Panna
is famous for its diamond mining industry and this make
it an interesting place to visit. Pandav falls is also
a major attraction with its lake fed by a waterfall.
One more attraction in this region is the Rajgarh Palace,
a magnificent piece of architecture overlooking the
valley.
History Legend
has it that the Pandavs of Mahabharat spent a good part
of their seclusion here in the forests of the Panna
National Park. This was ages away, but even now the
park region attracted every sort of visitors. The park
was the private hunting region of the royal family of
Panna. After independence, the park was declared a wildlife
sanctuary. It is in the year 1981 that this park was
declared a National Park and now it attracts the attention
of wildlife enthusiasts in large numbers.
Climate Summers
are too hot and at times the mercury touches around
40°c, though this is the time when one has the maximum
chances of encountering the exclusive wildlife of this
park. Winters are cold and comfortable and the temperature
generally remains under 25°C. Monsoon touches this
region in July and continues till mid-September. |
