Pench Tiger Reserve: Maharashtra

• A female cub of ‘man-eater’ tigress Avni has been released into the wild in the

Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR) of Maharashtra. Key Points

• About:
  • It is located in Nagpur District of Maharashtra and named after the pristine Pench
    • The Pench river flows right through the middle of the
    • It descends from north to south, thereby dividing the reserve into equal eastern and western
  • PTR is the joint pride of both Madhya Pradesh and
    • The Reserve is located in the southern reaches of the Satpura hills in the Seoni and Chhindwara districts in Madhya Pradesh, and continues in Nagpur district in Maharashtra as a separate
• It was declared a National Park by the Government of Maharashtra in 1975 and the identity of a tiger reserve was granted to it in the year 1998-1999.
• However, PTR Madhya Pradesh was granted the same status in 1992-1993. It is one of the major Protected Areas of Satpura- Maikal ranges of the Central
• It is among the sites notified as Important Bird Areas (IBA) of
• The IBA is a programme of Birdlife International which aims to identify, monitor and protect a global network of IBAs for conservation of the world’s birds and associated diversity.

Flora:

• The green cover is thickly spread throughout the
• A mixture of Southern dry broadleaf teak forests and tropical mixed deciduous forests is
• Shrubs, climbers and trees are also frequently present. Some of them are unique varieties and possess medicinal as well as healing
• Bamboo plantations are also present nearby the water

Fauna:

• Mammals:
• These include – sloth bear, jackal, nilgai, wild dog

Birds:

• This comprises peafowl, magpie robin, pintail, drongo, unia, myna etc.