Located around 245 km from Bangalore, Kabini is primarily known for its handful of luxury resorts around the Kabini River and Nagarhole National Park in the vicinity. Kabini Forest in Karnataka is spread over 55 acres, and is a vital part of the Nagarhole National Park or Rajiv Gandhi Tiger Reserve. Once upon a time, the Kabini Wildlife Sanctuary used to be the hunting grounds for the kings of Mysore, but at present it is open for tourism. The place is known for its serene lakes, valleys and streams. The Kabini Forest Reserve is quite popular among most wildlife enthusiasts and adventure seekers. Given its accessibility, lush landscape, lakes, and sightings of elephants and tigers, it is visited by a number of tourists every year.
Nagarahole is an important Tiger Reserve in Karnataka and is a major hub of conservation under Project Tiger and Project Elephant. The Protected Area supports large assemblages of carnivores and herbivores: Tiger, Leopard, Asiatic wild dog and Sloth bear, Asiatic Elephant, Gaur, Sambar, Chital, Muntjac, Four horned antelope, Wild pig, Mouse deer and South-western langur.
Nagarahole is contiguous with Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (Kerala) to its south and Bandipur Tiger Reserve to its southeastern parts. The park has a good number of streams and rivulets. The Kabini and Taraka reservoirs are large water bodies located towards the west and southeastern parts of the park respectively.
Nagarahole is acclaimed as one of the high-density tiger populations in the country after Corbett & Kaziranga tiger reserves respectively. It comprises some amazing landscapes and marvelous streams that swerve around like a snake, leaving the wildlife enthusiasts and the visitors astonishing with its natural beauty.
Nagarahole Tiger Reserve also creates an opportunity for bird enthusiasts with its amazing variety of birds, which frequent this place, as regularly as the enthusiasts.
The thriving number of Kabini Tiger population coupled with the frequency of their sightings and their increasingly bold nature has made Kabini a veritable haven for the animals, washing away decades of the stereotype that one must make a trip to Central India to spot the country’s national animal.
Every day, the forest is chock full of first-time safari-goers looking to see the world’s largest big cat in its natural habitat, in a raw display of its awesome power and grace, or established veteran photographers who have visited the park for years on end, and are hoping to sight some of their favourite tigers and make scintillating images.
About the Tiger Reserve
Nagarhole National Park is one of India’s chief tiger reserves along with the adjoining Bandipur Tiger Reserve. Together with the Bandipur Tiger Reserve(870 sq. kms), Mudumalai National Park(320 sq. kms) and Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary(344 sq. kms), it forms the largest protected area in Southern India, covering an area of 1534 sq. kms.
Nagarhole National Park boasts of its variety of wildlife housing many species of tigers, Gaur( Indian bison), elephants, Indian leopards and deers like Chital, Sambar among others
History Of the Tiger Reserve
Nagarahole Tiger Reserve had a long march since 1955, before it attained the present-day status of tiger reserve under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. Historically in 1955, around 285 sq km area of forest under then Coorg state was declared as Wildlife Sanctuary. The Government upgraded the Sanctuary into a National Park by extending over an area of 571.55 Sq Km in 1983. In the year 1986, Nagarahole National Park along with Bandipur Tiger Reserve was included as a part of the ‘Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve’.
In recognition of its good number of elephant population, Nagarahole National Park was included under ‘Project Elephant’ in 2000 and it was constituted as part of ‘Mysore Elephant Reserve’. In 2003, an area of 71.84 Sq Km was added to make it 643.392 Sq Km area National Park.
In 2003, Nagarahole National Park attained the status of tiger reserve by including Nagarahole under ‘Project Tiger’ and made it as an extension of Bandipur Tiger Reserve. Later in 2007, Nagarahole was declared as an independent Tiger Reserve by notifying around 643.392 Sq Km area as Core/Critical Tiger Habitat.
Finally, in 2012, Government of Karnataka notified an area of 204.589 Sq Km as Buffer Zone (Notified Forests) of Nagarahole Tiger Reserve expanding the total area of Tiger Reserve administration to 847.981 Sq km.
Conclusion
Kabini Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the ideal choices to pick the best wildlife sanctuaries in South India that offers a great wildlife experience. It is pinpointed on the bank of the Kabini River that enjoys the proximity of Beechanahalli village in Karnataka. This sanctuary is brimful with a diverse range of flora and fauna and attracts wildlife enthusiasts from the corners of the world. You can spot a diverse variety of wildlife species as well as some endangered species of animals. Its dense forests, lakes, steep valleys, and streams have the potential to win your heart.
Since time immemorial, Central Indian national parks have been regarded as Tiger havens, perfect for spotting and photographing the massive cat. Sightings in the South Indian parks like Kabini however, were so sparse that they were barely given any thought. Bandipur was often regarded as the home of the Tigers in South India, with Tigers like Gauri and the Aralikatte Male holding the spotlight for years.
Over the course of the last decade, Kabini has dethroned Bandipur as the home of the Big Cats in South India. Until the year 2015, Kabini was known as the land of the leopards, for good reason. There was an increasing number of leopards being sighted in the park, while tigers still remained elusive. Sighting the tigers of Kabini are now not only a reasonable expectation but also a very good possibility.
