Kanha-Pench Tiger Corridor and Satpura Ecology near Jabalpur

Jabalpur lies between two of India most important tiger reserves: Kanha to the east and Pench to the south, with Satpura National Park to the west. Together these form a critical wildlife corridor. The Satpura landscape of teak, sal, bamboo, and bija forests shelters tigers, leopards, wild dogs, sloth bears, and one of the densest populations of gaur in central India. Narmada tributaries drain these forests, carrying sediment that fertilises valley farmland downstream. Forest-edge villages have traditional knowledge of seasonal fruit, tuber, honey, and medicinal bark collection, governed by community rotation agreements with the forest department. The corridor is threatened by highway fragmentation; wildlife crossing structures have been installed on National Highway 7 based on recorded animal movement patterns.