BLOG 8: Pench National Park

Located on the southern border of the state of Madhya Pradesh, Pench National Park covers 758 square kilometers across the densely forested districts of Seoni and Chhindwara. The park takes its name from the Pench River, which flows through it from north to south and lies in the lower southern part of the Satpura Mountains. Pench NP was established in 1965 and declared a tiger reserve in 1992. The forest area in the park has a mixed vegetation of teak, saja, amaltas, dhaora, bijiayasal and salai trees, which provide protection for the particularly diverse birdlife here.

After waiting obediently in the long queue of 27 vehicles registered for this morning appointment, the barrier opens promptly at 6.30 a.m. A jeep is allowed to enter every 20 seconds, which will soon be distributed over the 3 possible starting routes.

After about an hour, things get hectic - we have also heard the two signs of the presence of a tiger for a long time - on the one hand, the "alarm calls" of monkeys and sambar deer, and on the other hand, the "tiger growling" - the tiger growl. After hectic radio messages and rapid “jumping” on the paths, we are very lucky to have a pole view position again for “L-Mark’s” appearance. This adult male tiger, which we consider to be the largest to date, was named so by the park rangers because of the characteristic L-shaped markings on his cheeks. He completely ignores the vehicles and strolls across the path back into the bush. His constant tiger growling sounds very threatening to us, but according to our guide Santosh, this is his normal tone without any particular aggression.

Of course, this sighting cannot be topped as the day progresses. In addition to the “usual” animals and especially birds, towards the end of the trip Santosh discovered a small herd of Nilgai antelopes, which are very shy and can hardly ever be observed.

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Located on the southern boundary of the state of Madhya Pradesh, Pench National Park spreads 758 square kilometers across the densely forested districts of Seoni and Chhindwara. The park derives its name from the Pench River that flows through it from the north to the south and is nestled in the lower southern reaches of the Satpura range. Pench NP was set up in 1965 and declared a tiger reserve in 1992, The forest area in the park has a mixed vegetation of teak, saja, amaltas, dhaora, bijiayasal, and salai trees that provide cover to the thriving bird life here.

After waiting patiently in the long queue of 27 approved vehicles for this morning ride, the barrier opens promptly at 6.30 am Every 20 seconds one jeep is allowed to enter, and soon has to turn into the obligatory path out of the three possible starting routes.

After about an hour, things get hectic - we have also heard the two signs of the presence of a tiger for some time - on the one hand, the "alarm calls" of monkeys and sambar deer, and on the other hand, the tiger growling. After hectic radio messages and rapid “jumping” on the paths, we are very lucky to have a pole view position again for “L-Mark's” appearance. This adult male tiger, which we consider to be the largest for us to date, was named so by the park rangers because of the characteristic L-shaped markings on his cheeks. He completely ignores the vehicles and strolls across the path back into the bush. His constant tiger growling sounds very threatening to us, but according to our guide Santosh, this is his normal tone without any particular aggression.

Of course, this sighting cannot be topped as the day progresses. In addition to the “usual” animals and especially birds, towards the end of the trip Santosh discovered a small herd of Nilgai antelopes, which are very shy and can be observed rather seldom.