Nine tiger reserves in one State, from Kanha to Madhav: more than any other State

Background

The National Tiger Conservation Authority's zone-wise list of tiger reserves places nine reserves in Madhya Pradesh, the largest number shown against any State in that list.
They are Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Madhav, Panna, Pench, Ratapani, Sanjay-Dubri, Satpura and Veerangana Durgavati.
Kanha is among the reserves whose protected area was notified in 1973-74, the earliest group on the Authority's list; its tiger reserve notification is of 2007, and it has a core area of 917.43 sq km and a buffer of 1,134.36 sq km, a total of 2,051.79 sq km.
Satpura has a core of 1,339.26 sq km and a total area of 2,133.31 sq km.
The State also holds three of the most recent additions to the national list: Veerangana Durgavati, notified as a tiger reserve in 2023 with a total area of 2339.12 sq km; Ratapani, notified in 2024 with a total of 1271.465 sq km; and Madhav, notified in 2025 with a core of 375.233 sq km and a total of 1651.387 sq km.
The Authority's list adds up to 46701.29 sq km of core area and 37786.54 sq km of buffer across the country, a total of 84487.83 sq km.