Bhopal: Efforts being made by Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav for the development of forest reserves are now getting recognition at national and international level. Chief Minister Dr. Yadav has congratulated the forest staff on Kanha Tiger Reserve being declared the best habitat of tigers. He has said that other reserves will also take positive initiatives in this direction. According to the report released by the Indian Wildlife Institute, Dehradun, the number of herbivorous wild animals in Kanha Tiger Reserve is the highest in the country. Kanha Tiger Reserve has been declared the best habitat area of tigers in the country. Kanha Tiger Reserve is located in Mandla district of the state. Its total area is 2074 square kilometers, which includes 917.43 square kilometers core area and 1134 square kilometers buffer zone. Kanha Tiger Reserve is the best in the country in wildlife conservation. According to the report released by the Indian Wildlife Institute, Dehradun, the number of herbivorous wild animals in Kanha Tiger Reserve is 1 lakh 2 thousand 485. Their density per square kilometer has been estimated to be 69.86. The total biomass of the sanctuary is 12.6 lakh kilograms (8602.15 kg/sq. km). There is abundance of Cheetal, Sambhar, Gaur, Wild Boar, Barking Deer, Nilgai and Hog Deer in Kanha Tiger Reserve. On this basis, this report has declared Kanha Tiger Reserve as an ideal habitat for the increasing population of tigers. Due to the continuous proportional increase in the number of diverse herbivorous species here, it has become the most biologically rich and balanced wildlife ecosystem.
Management strategies became the foundation of success Kanha Tiger Reserve has become an ideal tiger habitat due to its management policies. Here, the work of maintenance of grasslands, construction of water sources, cleaning of bushes, eradication of grasses like Lantana and habitat improvement to increase the number of tiger food species continues throughout the year. To deal with the water crisis in summer, deepening and cleaning of artificial water pools, solar borewells and ponds is done regularly. The sanctuary area is continuously monitored on the M-STriPES mobile app. Patrol monitoring was done in the sanctuary in April-2025 in 88,600 km area, which is the highest in the country. The regenerated grasslands after relocation of villages from the core area of the sanctuary have allowed wildlife to flourish without human interference. Species like chital were translocated from highly populated areas to low density areas and corridors connecting various grasslands were created, which gives freedom to species like barasingha, chital and gaur to move freely.
Regular training of forest personnel and technical guidance from WII, Dehradun ensured reliability and scientificity of the data. Due to higher density in the barren valley, the number of herbivore species has increased steadily through development of grasslands in Halan valley and continuous translocation of species. Kanha Tiger Reserve ranks top among the sanctuaries of the country with diverse habitat types and strong management. Its high biomass, balanced species distribution and minimal human-wildlife conflict make it a model for other sanctuaries.
