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Pench Tiger Reserve is named after the Pench River, which flows from north to south through the Reserve. The Reserve is located in the southern reaches of the Satpura hill range in the Seoni and Chhindwara districts in the Madhya Pradesh State of India. The terrain is undulating, with most of the area covered by small hills, steeply sloping on the sides.

The reserve is situated in an area that holds a significant place in the natural history of the Central India. The description of its natural beauty, richness if flora and fauna has appeared in numerous wildlife books dating back to 17th century. Books written in the 19th and early 20th century by famous naturalists like Captain J. Forsyth and Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book explicity present the detailed panorama of nature's abundance in this tract.

An extensive forest belt extends in three directions, east and south, covering forest tracts of Seoni, Balaghat and Nagpur districts. The contiguous forest forest on the southern side in the Maharashtra state of India, initially notified as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru National Park has been recently included in the Project Tiger networkby the sane name as this Reserve. A dam has been constructed on the Pench River on southeastern boundary of the Reserve.

The area is criss-cross by numerous seasonal streams and nalas.The Pench river flowing through the central line of the Reserve is dry by the April-end but a number of water pools locally known as dohs are found, which serve as waterholes for wild animals. A few perennial springs also exist in this area. However, the water sources are not suitably distributed, hence large area remains unutilized by the wild animals. The Pench reservoir at the center of the Reserve is the only major water source during pinch period.

As the prey concentration is high along the Pench river, tigers usually inhabit this belt. Leopards, though, generally operate in the peripheral areasbut are occasionally seen in deep forest also. Jungle cats are common seen. Leopard cats Small Indian Civets and Palm Civets are common but seen rarely.

Wild dogs are commonly seen in packs of up to 15, near Chhedia, Jamtara, Bodanala and Pyorthadi areas of the Reserve. Wild Boar is ubiquitous. Sloth bear occupy hilly, rocky out crops and favour mahul bel infested forst. Chinkara is present in very small number and is found in open areas around Turia, Telia, and Dudhgaon villages. Jackals are seen occasionally near Tekadi, Alikatta and Chhindimatta villages,

Forest Types
• Dry Teak Bearing Forest
• Southern Dry Deciduous Mixed Forest.