PANNA TIGER RESERVE

CURRENT CONTEXT: The iconic elephant Vatsala, believed to be Asia’s oldest female elephant (aged 100+), died at Panna Tiger Reserve.

ABOUT PANNA TIGER RESERVE:

• Location: Vindhyan range, northern Madhya Pradesh; the only Tiger Reserve in Bundelkhand (~542 sq km) .
• Ecology: Biogeographic zones include Deccan Peninsula and Central Highlands; called a “table top” landscape with plateaus and gorges.
• River: The Ken River runs south-to-north through the reserve.
• Heritage: Home to 2,000-year-old rock paintings; inhabited by Baiga & Gond
• Flora: Dry deciduous forests with teak and Acacia catechu on steep slopes; edge of teak’s northern natural range.
• History: Declared a Project Tiger site in 1994.

 ABOUT VATSALA:

• Born in Kerala’s Nilambur forests around the 1920s, she joined Panna in 1993.
• Served in patrol duties, and later cared for calves even after retirement (2004).
• Matriarch known as “Vatsala Daadi”, survived multiple elephant attacks, and had health issues in recent years.