It was a cold night, and the forests around the buffer zone of Pench National Park were pitch dark. Our car’s headlamps sliced through the void of the winding roads, the silence thick around us. Suddenly, a flash of stripes at the roadside. My breath caught. Brakes slammed. Reversing 20 metres felt like an endless journey.
A young tigress stood in the glow, her amber eyes indifferent. Unfazed, she strolled the tar road, undisturbed by passing villagers on bicycles and motorbikes. For half an hour, we followed her confident strides until she vanished into a ravine. That night, I realised—big cats heed no boundaries, moving where instinct leads. On International Day Of Forests on March 21, let us remember that such encounters, as thrilling as they are, blur the fragile line between their world and ours, often disrupting both in ways we barely comprehend.
What are buffer forests?
In India, buffer forests serve as crucial transitional zones around core protected areas like tiger reserves and national parks. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) demarcates such areas to provide additional habitat for wildlife dispersing from the core, support local communities by reducing their dependence on forest resources like firewood and grazing lands, and function as vital corridors for animal movement, ensuring ecological connectivity.
With Project Tiger’s next phase focused on reconnecting larger reserves, such regions should help disperse the growing tiger population from crowded parks. However, frequent reports of road kills and poaching from peripheral forests is cause for concern regarding the viability of it all.
Buffer forest tourism
The buffer forests are thriving ecosystems and act as channels between jungles, maintaining genetic diversity, and serve as stepping stones for dispersing tigers, allowing young adults to claim new territories without conflict. Suyash Keshari, Founder of Ameliya Safaris is all for responsible wildlife tourism in Bandhavgarh in Madhya Pradesh. “Both Dhamokhar and Panpatha buffers offer just as good sightings as the cores and are equally pristine habitats,” he explains. Highlighting its role in forming vital tiger corridors, Keshari adds, “The connectivity between Sanjay-Dubri Tiger Reserve (SDTR), Bandhavgarh and Guru Ghasidas National Park in Chhattisgarh could create a contiguous tiger landscape spanning over 3,500 square kilometers, providing ample space for the big cats and their prey base for years to come.”
Increasingly, buffer zones around big tiger reserves are seeing a growing influx of tourists, on weekends and holidays, highlighting a shift in interests. “Buffers are thriving ecosystems in their own right. They open for tourism after proper development of facilities, but it is only after tigers are sighted, that people show an interest in visiting”, explained Krishna Moorthy, APCCF, MP Forest Department. Visitors to buffer zones frequently report sightings of not just tigers but also dholes (wild dogs), leopards (including black leopards), sloth bears and abundant herbivores.
“We have started nature hiking trails and walking safaris in the buffers of Satpura where the habitat is rich. With more awareness among travellers, we hope these offerings become more popular”, Moorthy added.
Why they matter
“Cattle grazing and human activity gives tourists the impression that wildlife isn’t present in buffers. But with rising tiger populations, these areas must be treated with equal caution as they often harbour young or displaced tigers. The same safety rules apply, and they offer just as much as core forests to a visitor,” says Joydeep Mondal, Nagpur-based wildlife photographer and Founder of Wildchasers India, a tour company.
Bandhavgarh illustrates how buffer forests transition into core zones, highlighting the delicate balance between conservation and infrastructure. Originally covering 105 sq km in 1968, the park expanded four-fold in 1982 to accommodate increasing tiger numbers. However, a highway still runs through the newer core zone, disrupting wildlife movement and increasing human-wildlife interactions, underscoring the need for better planning to prevent forests from becoming fragmented as they evolve into core habitats. Notably, Satpura, Tadoba and Ranthambore have recently opened multiple buffer zones for tourism.
“Buffers allow local communities to graze their cattle, forage for wild produce and medicines, a way of life still prevalent amongst many tribes. The same is strictly not permitted within the core,” Mondal adds. Satpura presents a unique case study in this regard. A village called Mallupura was relocated out of the park a few years back. The villagers left their ageing cattle behind. Today, these bovines have multiplied, and have become tougher, even wild. “They have re-learnt how to give alarm calls on seeing a predator,” says Tarkik Verma, Naturalist with Jehan Numa Wilderness. Where once humans lived, the forest is growing once more, for both prey and predator to find new habitats to make home.
Safari experiences
For travelers willing to look beyond big-ticket parks, buffer forests offer a unique experience – fewer vehicles, lower human interference, and a more organic encounter with the wild. Tourism models in these areas are evolving, emphasizing community-driven initiatives that benefit locals while prioritizing conservation.
In Rukhad, an offshoot of Pench National Park beyond India’s first elevated wildlife corridor on NH 44, a private hospitality company is facilitating luxe accommodations within the forest beside water bodies, mainly for birdwatching. Kanha is adopting a different model, with ecotourism initiatives like guided nature walks and river skywalk on the Banjar generating revenues. “There is much that can be done with buffer areas through collaboration. Monitoring these patches is our responsibility, and we assist the department by tracking big cat movement with scientific documentation of signs found on these trails,” adds Vinod Ayam, Head Naturalist at Kanha Jungle Lodge, which shares a boundary with the buffer zone.
Whether it’s the silent riverbanks of Sanjay Dubri, the dense thickets of Pench’s peripheries, or the rocky plateaus of Panna’s buffers – each landscape holds a secret waiting to be discovered. Luckily, the shift from ‘tiger-centric’ safaris to holistic wildlife experiences is gaining traction. For the discerning traveler, the promise of an unhurried, intimate, and immersive wildlife experience might just lie beyond the well-trodden trails of India’s iconic parks.
