Tadoba
Popularly known as the ‘Jewel of Vidarbha’, Tadoba is the most popular tiger reserve in Maharashtra !
Situated in the Chandrapur district of Vidarbha region in Maharashtra, Tadoba was given a status of ‘National Park’ in 1955. Later in the year 1986, the adjoining part of the forest was declared as ‘Andhari Wildlife Sanctuary’. Tadoba National Park and Andhari Wildlife together constitute ‘Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve’ which spreads more than 600 sq km.
Later in the year 2010 the adjoining patches of the forest were added to the existing core zone. These parts or patches were notified as the ‘Buffer Zones’. These buffers are extremely vital as they serve as an important habitat for the Tigers and Leopards, as well as they protect the core forest from any direct external impact. The population of Tigers at Tadoba is on a rise and buffer zones hence become more important as they accommodate the rising number of tigers and provide them a safe habitat.
Core and buffer zones together form an area of more than 1000 sq km.
Tadoba is a dry deciduous forest. Most of this jungle is dominated by Bamboo. Other important trees found here are – Teakwood, Crocodile Bark tree, Axlewood tree, Mahua, Ghost’s tree, Bhirra tree, Amla, Palash, Jamun and Arjun etc.
The forest also supports a good variety of wildlife including Leopard, Jungle Cat, Wild Dog, Jackal, Sloth Bear, Pangolin, Mongoose, Wild Boar, Gaur, Spotted Deer, Sambar, Flying Squirrel, Barking Deer and Porcupine etc. In addition to this, Tadoba is home to around 250 species of birds including the rare Lesser Adjutant & the Grey-headed Fish Eagle!
How to reach –
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- By air – Nagpur (120 km to 150 km from Tadoba, depending on the entry gate).
- By rain – Chandrapur (30 km from Moharli gate) is the nearest railway station. But Nagpur has better train connections.
