About India’s First Dark Sky Park:
- The Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Maharashtra is India's first Dark Sky Park within a tiger reserve for earmarking areas around the park that restrict light pollution for stargazers to access pristine dark skies.
- Dark Sky Place certification focuses on lighting policy, dark sky-friendly retrofits, outreach and education, and monitoring the night sky.
- This designation positions PTR as a sanctuary where tourists can witness celestial spectacles, shielded from the intrusion of artificial light pollution.
- PTR became the fifth such park in Asia.
- The certification was given by the International Dark-Sky Association, a global dark-sky movement to promote astronomy.
Key Facts about Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR):
- Location: 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 Sanctuary.
- It is named after the Pench River, which flows from north to south through the Reserve.
- It comprises the Indira Priyadarshini Pench National Park, the Pench Mowgli Sanctuary, and a buffer.
- The area of the Pench Tiger Reserve and the surrounding area is the real story area of Rudyard Kipling's famous "The Jungle Book".
- Terrain: It is undulating, with most of the area covered by small hills and steep slopes on the sides.
- Vegetation: The undulating topography supports a mosaic of vegetation ranging from a moist sheltered valley to an open, dry deciduous forest.
- Flora: The reserve boasts a diverse range of flora, including teak, saag, mahua, and various grasses and shrubs.
- Fauna:
- The area is especially famous for large herds of Chital, Sambar, Nilgai, Gaur (Indian Bison), and wild boar.
- The key predator is the tiger, followed by leopard, wild dogs, and wolf.
- There are over 325 species of resident and migratory birds, including the Malabar Pied Hornbill, Indian Pitta, Osprey, Grey-Headed Fishing Eagle, White-Eyed Buzzard, etc.
