Melghat Tiger Reserve is located on the Satpura Hill Range in Central India, also called Gavilgarh hills. It is a prime habitat of Tiger. The forest is tropical dry deciduous in nature, dominated by teak (Tectona grandis). It is in the catchment area of the five major rivers, Khandu, Khapra, Sipna, Gadga and Dolar, all of which are tributaries of the river Tapti. Melghat is prime biodiversity repository of the Maharashtra State. However what makes Melghat special to us is the fact that the Forest Owlet is sighted in this area. The Forest Owlet Heteroglaux (Athene) Blewitti was considered extinct for over a century, for exactly 113 years to be precise. Pamela Rasmussen, Ben King and David Abbott rediscovered the Forest Owlet at Shahada in Toranmal Reserve Forest in November 1997. B.N.H.S. research fellow Farah Ishtiaq followed up with field research, mostly in the Nandurbar district along the Satpuras. Then it was spotted in Melghat Tiger Reserve (MTR) and Mahendri Reserve Forest in the Amravati district of Maharastra.
Apart from being the home to a large number of Tigers along with a plethora of animal species, what makes Melghat Reserve really stand out is the fact that it plays host to the endangered Forest Owlet. The Forest Owlet was considered extinct for over a century, for exactly 113 years to be precise. Pamela Rasmussen, Ben King and David Abbott rediscovered the Forest Owlet at Shahada in Toranmal Reserve Forest in November 1997. B.N.H.S. research fellow Farah Ishtiaq followed up with field research, mostly in the Nandurbar district along the Satpuras. Then it was spotted in Melghat Tiger Reserve, and it has been a major attraction ever since.
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