Pench (Tiger Tales)

Pench National park, nestling in the lower southern reaches of the Satpura hills is named after the Pench river, meandering through the park from north to south. It is located on the southern boundary of Madhya Pradesh, bordering Maharashtra, in the districts of Seoni and Chhindwara. Pench National Park, comprising of 758 Sq Kms, out of which a core area of 299 sq km of Indira Priyadarshini Pench National Park and the Mowgli Pench Sanctuary and the remaining 464 sq km of Pench national park is the buffer area. The area has always been rich in wildlife. It is dominated by the fairly open canopy, mixed forests with considerable shrub cover and open grassy patches. The high habitat heterogeneity favors a high population of Chital and Sambar. Pench tiger reserve has the highest density of herbivores in India (90.3 animals per sq km).