North India Travel Guide

Bandhavgarh Wildlife

This is a small National Park; compact, yet full of game. The density of the tiger population at Bandhavgarh is the highest known in India. This is also white Tiger country. These have been found in the old state of Rewa for many years. The last known was captured by maharaja Martand Singh in 1951 . This White tiger , Mohun, is now stuffed and on display in the Palace of the Mahrahahs of Rewa.

Bandhavgarh is densely populated with other species: the great gaur, or Indian bison, can be seen with ease, as they come onto the meadows to graze at dusk; sambar and barking deer are a common sight and nigai are to be seen in the more open areas of the park.

The terrain is of great rocky hills rising sharply from the swampy and densely-forested valley bottoms. The finest of these hills is Bandhavgarh, sided with great cliffs and eroded rocks and on its highest point stands Bandhavgarh fort, thought to be some 2,000 years old. Scattered throughout the park, and particularly around the fort, are numerous caves containing shrines and ancient Sankrit inscriptions.

Covering 448 sq km, Bandhavgarh is situated in Shahdol district among the outlying hills of the vindhya range. At the centre of the Park is Bandhavgarh hiss, rising 811 metres above MSL-surrounding it are a large number of smaller hills separated by gently sloping valleys. These valleys end in small, swampy meadows, locally known as 'bohera' . The lowest point in the park is at Tala (440 metres above MSL).

The vegetation is chiefly of sal forest in the valleys and on the lower slopes, gradually changing to mixed deciduous forest on the hills and in the hotter, drier areas of the park in the sough and west. Bamboo is found throughout.

There are three well-defined seasons-the cool (from middle of October to end of February), the hot (from March to middle of June) and the wet (from middle of June to middle of October). The mean annual rainfall is 1,173 mm, coming mostly in the rainy season. The temperature ranges from a maximum of 42 D Celsius in May and June, to around 4 D Celsius in winter.

Prior to becoming a National Park, the forests around Bandhavgarh had long been maintained as a Shikargah, or game preserve, of the Maharajahs of Rewa. Hunting was carried out by the Maharajahs and their guests-otherwise the wildlife was relatively well-protected. It was considered a good omen for a Maharajah of Rewa to shoot 109 tigers His Highness Maharaja Venkat Raman Singh shot 111 tigers by 1914.

In 1947 Rewa State was merged with Madhya Pradesh; Bandhavgarh came under the regulation of Madhya Pradesh. The Maharajah of Rewa still retained the hunting right of Bandhavgarh and no special conservation measures were taken until 1968, when the areas were constituted as a National Park, Since then, numerous steps have been taken to retain Bandhavgarh National Park as an unspoilt natural habitat.