Tigers

The Panna National Park's topography is a splendid mosaic of plateaus, gorges, vast expanses of teak forests and savannah grasslands. It comprises the upper Talgaon Plateau and the middle Hinouta Plateau being fed by Ken River which runs for about 55 km within the sanctuary. From safaris to boat rides from spotting crocodiles to tigers and sloth bears Panna offers many exciting opportunities to the wildlife lover. One can glimpse many birds from the boat. The dense teak forests in Panna add to its many charms and lend it a wonderfully mistic touch.

Panna Tiger reserve is home of Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), leopard (Panthera pardus), wild dog (Cuon alpinus), wolf (Canis lupus), hyaena (Hyaena hyaena) and caracal (Felus caracal) and smaller cats.Panna claims to host as many as 35 tigers. The other animals are Sloth bear in the rock escarpments and undisturbed vales. Many animals found include sambar, spotted deer, chinkara, nilgai, langur, wild dogs.

Other Attractions

Best Time to Visit

How to get there

By Rail: Satna, at a distance of around 90 km, is the nearest railway station. It is a major railway hub and is connected to many places in central and western India, the most important of them being Mumbai at a distance of 1,540 km.

By Bus: The nearest bus stand is Panna connected to Khajuraho and many other places in Madhya Pradesh by a good road network. Madla, at a distance of around 24 km southwest of Khajuraho, is a good transport centre. One can get buses and other road transport modes from here to the Panna National Park.

Where to stay

Betla national park is nestled in the lap of Deccan Plateau which includes 1,026 sq km of Palamau Tiger Reserve in the state of Jharkhand. An additional 226 sq km was added to the park in 1989 and 63 sq km of the Mahuadar wolf sanctuary was added to national park.

The park boasts of high wild life sighting despite thick foliage. Betla village is the only entry point to the park. The park has plenty of wild animals including tigers, elephant, gaur, cheetal, sloth bear, mouse deer, pangolin, four horned antelope, sambar, civet and wolf. One can also visit 468 –ft high Lodh Falls situated 95 km south of the park in Mahuadar and ruins of the Chero Kings’ Fort situated near the Betla at 400 ft.

Getting to Betla Tiger Reserve:

Best time to visit Betla Tiger Reserve:

The total Tiger population of India is estimated at 3846. State wise statistics of Tiger population:

Tiger Statistics - An Update

• Tiger extinct in 61% of its habitat in Rajasthan
• Tiger extinct in 52% of its habitat in Jharkhand
• Tiger extinct in 53% of its habitat in Uttar Pradesh
• Tiger extinct in 30% of its habitat in Shivaliks

Tiger cubs are born blind and helpless ,weighing only 1.5 kg (3.3 lbs).The cub’s eyes open after one or two weeks. Initially blue or green the eyes will darken later to glowing amber. On average there are three cubs in a litter though an exceptional seven was once recorded in Ranthambhore National Park. Tigresses are devoted mothers and when the cubs are young she will move them to places of safety carrying them gently one by one in her huge powerful jaws. Cubs are very vulnerable to attack by passing predators and many perish before their first year is out.Jackals, hyenas, leopards and pythons as well as other tigers are all potential threat. The tigress must choose a carefully hidden den and leave the cubs alone for a time as possible while she hunts. Grass fires which are often started deliberately to improve grazing kill many tiger cubs. The cubs remain in the den for four to eight weeks. They then venture into the outside world for the first time and receive their first taste of meat. They keep in single file behind the tigress and it is thought that her striped tail and the large white spots behind her ears act as beacons for the cubs to follow.

The runt of the litter if it has survived to emerge from the den is always the last in the line of the cubs and is often picked off by predators. It is extremely rare that more than two cubs in a litter survive to maturity. The ration of male to female cubs born is about one to one but more females survive into adulthood because the male cubs leave the family earlier and are more likely to perish because of their inexperience at hunting. Males also suffer injuries in territorial disputes and may be more vulnerable to hunters as they are less wary of baits. In contrast with the careful nurturing received by wild tigers cubs born in captivity are usually abandoned or eaten if not immediately removed by the zookeepers. Presumably the unnatural conditions are the root cause of this aberrant behavior. Tiger cubs are playful and their games together begin to teach them the skills necessary for survival. They stalk and pounce on leaves, insects or even their mother’s tail.

At first the cubs must hide in the undergrowth while the tigress hunts but later they are allowed to watch and eventually join in. The young can help the tigress by driving the chosen victim towards her. Learning to hunt is a difficult and dangerous process and many cubs are gored or trampled to death. Inexperienced cubs tend to grab the legs of the prey leaving them vulnerable to retaliation. Sometimes the tigress will intervene. She can bring down the prey and then leave it for the cubs to kill. It takes many attempts before the cubs learn to kill efficiently by biting the throat or the nape of the neck. A mother tiger may allow her cubs to feed first. If she joins her young at a meal she will withdraw if a cub protests and will go without meat to ensure that they have enough. The cubs have voracious appetites and by the time they are 14 months old it is a strain for the tigress to capture enough prey. Their lessons learned young tigers must venture out in search of a territory. Male tigers leave their mothers at about 18-22 months old. Sub-adult males are often tolerated by other males but this will change on reaching maturity. Each young male must look for a vacant territory or one where there is a chance of ousting an old or sick male. Females remain with their mothers for 24-28 months and will help in the capture of prey until they leave. The young tigers will become sexually mature at three-four years old and by this time are ready to found the next generation of cubs.

The 2116 tiger's partiality to cover its nocturnal habits, unpredictable movements and generally secretive behavior do not allow repeated sightings. The standard and practical method of counting tigers is to identify individuals by their pugmarks - a method capable of near mathematical accuracy.

Features in a pugmark, e.g the shape and relative size of the right, left or bottom lobe of the pad, the top edge of the pad, the relative sizes and placings of the toes with respect to the pad and several other features vary from tiger to tiger. An individual can be identified from a study of a combination of these features unique to itself, from frequent tracings of pugmarks recorded in the field.