Tadoba National Park

Wildlife of Tadoba

The Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve encloses interesting wildlife sightings, bursting with tigers and a huge variety of other wild animals, birds, and reptiles, including leopard, sloth bear, hyena, jackal, wild dog, sambar, and many more. Tiger is the main attraction of this park and the tourists can see them occasionally in the deep forest or near the lake. It is one of the most popular tiger reserves in India, known for best tiger sightings. There are a lot of other wild animals in Tadoba Tiger Reserve, here are some details that can give you an insight of wildlife in Tadoba tiger reserve.

  • Besides Royal Bengal Tigers, Tadoba has an abundance of other creatures, which include, leopard, cheetal, chinkara, langoors, nilgai, barking dear, blue bull, spotted dear, flying squirrel, sloth bears, gaur, dhole, striped hyena, small Indian civet, jungle cats, sambar, and chausingha.
  • It sustains the Marsh Crocodile and the endangered reptiles, including Indian Python, common Indian monitor, Terrapins, Indian Star Tortoise, Indian Cobra, and Russel's viper.
  • It houses 195 species of birds, including a wide variety of water birds, raptors, and endangered species and 74 species of butterflies, including the pansies, monarch, Mormons, and swordtails.
  • It gives life to many insect species, including the endangered danaid egg-fly and great eggfly and dragonflies, jewel beetles, signature spider, giant wood spider, wolf spiders, crab spiders, and lynx spiders.
  • There are certain night animals too which make their presence felt specially during night like, the ratel, Indian Pangolins, porcupines, four horned antelopes, and gaurs.

  • Birding in Tadoba National Park

    The existence of River Andhari inside the Tadoba National Park gives way to a wide diversity of water birds, and raptors. There are approximately 195 species of birds that have been recorded in the park, including three endangered species, including the grey-headed fish eagle, the crested serpent eagle, and the changeable hawk-eagle. The Tadoba is one of the finest birding destinations in Maharashtra with dense forest zones, bamboo zones, grasslands, and wetlands that suits both the forest and the wetland birds.

    The interesting species of birds in the reserve, including the migrants are-Orange-headed Thrush, Indian Pitta, Crested Treeswift, Stone Curlew, Crested Honey Buzzard, Paradise Flycatcher, Bronze-winged Jacana, Lesser Goldenbacked Woodpecker, Warblers, Black-naped Blue Flycatcher, Oriental Honey Buzzard, White-eyed Buzzard, Pariah Kite, Eurasian Sparrow Hawk, Black Shouldered Kite, Shikra, Short-toed Snake Eagle, Bonelli's Eagle, Common Kestrel, Open Bill Stork, Black Ibis, Bar Headed Goose, Black Strok, Lesser Adjutant Strok, Brahminy Duck, Comb Duck, Little Grebe, Grey Heron, Large Egret, Median Egret, Indian Shag, Purple Heron, Banded Bay Cuckoo, White-breasted Water Hen, Green Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, River Tern, Painted Sand Grouse, Jungle Bush Quail, Indian Peafowl, Spotted Owlet, Forest Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, White Wagtail, House Sparrow, Indian Robbin, Indian Roller, Ruby Throat, Blue Throat, Black Redstart, Grey Tit, Common Stonechat, Brahminy Myna, Asian Pied Starling, House Crow, Large-billed Crow, and many more.

  • Flora in Tadoba National Park

    The Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve is predominantly a Southern Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest that comprises about 87 percent of the protected area and dense woodlands. There have been around 141 species of trees and plants belonging to 58 botanical families recorded in the reserve, which consist of trees, shrubs, herbs, and grasses. Some of the important details of the flora in Tadoba National Park are highlighted below.

    • Three species i.e. Hyptis Suaveolens, Lantana Camara, and Parthenium Hysterophorus are found as invasive weed species in Tadoba.
    • Teak is the predominant tree species here.
    • Deciduous trees include, Ain (crocodile bark), Bija, Dhauda, Hald, Salai, Semal, Tendu
    • Axlewood Anogeissus Latifolia is a fire-resistant species growing here and the Palas or Flame of the Forest Butea Monosperma are colorful plantation that gives vibrant touch to the dense forest of Tadoba.
    • There are many Black Plum trees around here, which grow in the riparian habitat near the lakeside.
    • Tadoba National Park is also a great habitat for Arjun trees that grows at the waterhole at Panchadhara.
    • There are several medicinal plants here like Kach Kujali (used to treat Parkinson's disease), neem, Bheria, Bija, and Beheda.
    • Patches of grasses and bamboo thickets are found as common plantation here.

    Teak and bamboo are the most popular species of trees in Tadoba. Other major species of trees found within the protected area are- Bor Bel, Beheda, Hirda, Karaya Gum, Mahua Madhuca (crepe myrtle), Lannea Cormandelica (wodier tree), Chichwa, Dhawada, Kusum, Mahua, Mowai, Phetra, Rohan, Shisham, Sisoo, Shivan, Surya, Sirus, and Jamun.