Tadoba National Park in Chandrapur, Maharashtra, became a national park in 1955. But the story of its protection goes back much further, to 1873, when the forest department first started controlling fires in the area. A Reserved Forest followed in 1879, and over the next few decades the rules on hunting got stricter, with new restrictions in 1905, 1931 and 1935.
The Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) that people visit today didn't appear overnight. It grew out of one decision after another across almost 150 years. Below, I've gone through them in order and noted what each one really changed on the ground.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1873 | Systematic fire protection begins in the area |
| 1879 | Declared Reserved Forest |
| 1905 | Closed as a shooting block for tigers, except under special permits |
| 1907 | First Forest Rest House built |
| 1931 | Closed for shooting of all animals |
| 1935 | 45 sq miles around Tadoba Lake made a sanctuary for all animals except wild boar |
| 1942 | Converted into a Game Reserve |
| 1947 | India gains independence |
| 1955 | Tadoba National Park declared |
| 1968 | Collection of non-timber forest produce stopped inside the park |
| 1972 | Khatoda and Pandharpauni villages shifted |
| 1974 | Shooting blocks closed to hunting |
| 1986 | Andhari Wildlife Sanctuary declared |
| 1995 | Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve notified |
| 2007 | Declared Critical Tiger Habitat |
| 2009 | Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve Conservation Foundation formed |
| 2010 | Buffer zone notified |
| 2012 | Unified control under a Field Director |
| 2013 | Unified control of the entire area handed to the Field Director, TATR |
| 2019 | Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) declared |
Long before any forest department existed, this land was Gond territory. Gond kings ruled from Chandrapur, and their rule in the region ended when the Marathas took over in 1751. The Gond community never left. Villages around the reserve are still largely Gond, and that matters for how the park is managed today.
The name Tadoba comes from Taru, a Gond headman worshipped as a deity. Local belief says he died after meeting a tiger near the lake, and a small shrine to him stands on the lakeshore. The name Andhari comes from the Andhari River on the eastern side of the reserve.
The first recorded step is 1873, when systematic fire protection started. In a dry deciduous forest, fire is the biggest seasonal threat, and the forest department began managing it before the area had any formal legal status.
In 1879, the forest was declared a Reserved Forest. The legal protection at this stage was about the forest itself. Wildlife was not yet the priority.
This is where wildlife protection actually begins.
The 45 sq mile sanctuary later became the basis of the national park, since 45 sq miles is about 116.5 sq km.
In 1942, the area was converted into a Game Reserve. Hunting was now regulated by blocks, not left open. India became independent in 1947, and Tadoba's protection continued without a break under the new administration.
In 1955, Tadoba was declared a National Park, giving it the strongest protection category then available. The area was roughly the same as the 1935 sanctuary, about 116.55 sq km. It is still Maharashtra's oldest national park.
After 1955, the next few steps dealt with people and hunting inside the park:
Together, these removed the main sources of disturbance within the core: resource collection, settlements and hunting.
In 1986, the Andhari Wildlife Sanctuary was declared in the adjoining forest. The original park covers the Tadoba range around the Chimur hills, while Andhari covers the Moharli and Kolsa ranges.
In 1995, the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve was notified, combining the national park and the sanctuary into a single reserve. Some sources cite 1993 for the merger. That year refers to the area being brought under Project Tiger, while 1995 is the date of the formal notification.
Most of the administrative framework came in this period.
Before this, parts of the area were managed separately. After 2013, one officer was responsible for the whole reserve.
In 2019, the Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) was declared around the reserve. The ESZ regulates activity in the area surrounding the protected forest, so what happens outside the boundary doesn't undo protection inside it.
Protection at Tadoba didn't arrive in one step. It tightened in layers: first the forest (1879), then tigers (1905), then all animals (1931), then a sanctuary (1935), a game reserve (1942), a national park (1955), the removal of villages and hunting (1968–1974), a larger sanctuary (1986), a tiger reserve (1995), and finally the legal and management structure (2007–2019).