Located barely 40 km from Khajuraho, Panna National Park is a popular detour for visitors from Khajuraho. Though the tiger population has nearly been wiped out due to poaching, it once had a healthy number (40 tigers).

Panna has an area covering 546 sq. miles with waterfalls and even the Rajgarh Palace that overlooks the valley. In March 2009 two female tigers were relocated from Bandhavgarh and Kanha National Parks and currently those are the only two tigers to be found in Panna. Plans have been approved to trans-locate more tigers in the future.

The tiger population has seen a steady decrease in numbers over the last decade across India. The main reason being government apathy towards what we consider our national animal. Inaccurate census method (using the pug marks to count tigers), not enough funds for anti-poaching squads and pressure from the human settlements around parks have been the main reasons for the decline. There has not been a review of how successful project tiger (started 1973) has been in recent years. Incorrect numbers as to the population of tigers over the years has led to places like Sariska and Panna no longer housing a population of tigers. Reintroducing them in areas where their population has been depleted is an on going project. Until and unless there is active government participation, with funds provided to the right departments to provide protection, it will only be a matter of time before the current population of 1500 tigers across India is wiped out completely.

Even without the presence of tigers, Panna has Sloth Bears, Chital, Chinchara, Sambar and a host of other animals apart for 200 recorded species of birds. The park is closed between July to end September and reopens for visitors only during October.
As we drove through Panna national park to get to Varanasi we were stunned by the beauty of the park. We found the park exceedingly lush from the monsoons; beautiful and green as we drove up the ghat and found the valley stunning. The thought that crossed my mind was that Panna is prefect Tiger country-with the rocky valley below and abundant water- I could almost imagine the magnificent cat lying in a shallow pool of water to get away from the heat.  I remembered then that there were only two tigers left not native to Panna but reintroduced. In effect the Panna tiger had disappeared.

Must read: Valmik Thapar , Secret Life of Tigers.