Garden Of Eden – Melghat Tiger Reserve
Posted in Asia | October 11, 2011 | Comment NowSituated on the southern side of the Hill mountains of the Satpura in the central portion of India, lies the Melghat Tiger Reserve. This is also known by the name Gavilgarh hills. There is a high mountain which runs from east to west. The highest point is the Virat peak which is the southern portion of the reserve. This is the main place where the tigers live. With the dry deciduous forest here the main tree is the teak. There are five rivers which drain this region and these are the Dolar, Sipna, Gadga, Khapra and the Khandu. All these are the tributaries of the Tapti River. The River Tapti lies in the northeastern part of the Melghat Reserve.
Melghat has a lot of importance with respect to topography and has a rugged landscape. There are large plateau here and this is dotted with the rugged landscape. The Chikhaldara, Makhala, chiladari, Gugamal, Patulda are some of the plateau. The land is conserved and the forests here completely dominate the whole region.
Recognized as a tiger reserve in the year 1974, this tiger project reserve has an area of around 1676.93 sq km. The Gugarnal National Park is the main area of the entire reserve and the actually sanctuary for the tigers has an area of around 788 sq km. The Government joined the reserve and the sanctuary together and recognized it as the Melghat Sanctuary in 1994. In the year 1987, the Gugarnal National Park was made a portion of the Melghat Tiger Project Reserve.
The beautiful surroundings of this reserve have the fort of Gavilgarh on the plateau of Chikaldhara and the fort of Narnala in the south eastern portions of the reserve. All this adds to the beauty of the place and the people who come ere love to see these monuments in these places against the background of the reserve greenery.
With more than 700 kinds of plants, this reserve is the best place for all kinds of trees, shrubs, herbs, climbers and many kinds of grass species. With teak as the main tree here, the others spread a lot of greenery here and the entire zone is absolutely mesmerizing with its lovely verdant expanse. The flora and fauna here are very unique, with the leopard, wild dog, sloth bear, sambar, jackal, barking deer, gaur, cheetal, nilgai, flying squirrel, langur, wild boar, porcupine, rhesus monkey, mouse deer, pangolin, otter, python, black napped hare, and the caracal.
The main inputs of the Melghat Tiger Reserve is the management of the habitat and its protection. There are lot of conflicts between man and animal here which are being dealt with on a top priority. The entire reserve has been divided into three areas for management and this has been done to have a balance between the ecological community and the conservation of the biodiversity here.
There are many developmental activities here towards ecological balance which has been taken up during the years 1992 to the year 1997. This has been done by the local people and the United Nations Development Programme.
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