The Satpura-Melghat Tiger Corridor is a forested landscape in the Satpura hill range of central India that connects Satpura Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh with Melghat Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra, letting tigers and other wildlife move between the two reserves.

Basic Details

Location: Central India, across the Satpura hill range — Betul and Narmadapuram districts of Madhya Pradesh, and Amravati district of Maharashtra.
Connects: Satpura Tiger Reserve (Madhya Pradesh) and Melghat Tiger Reserve (Maharashtra).
Recognitions: An NTCA-recognised priority wildlife corridor linking two Project Tiger reserves — Melghat Tiger Reserve, declared in 1973-74 as one of India's original nine tiger reserves, and Satpura Tiger Reserve, declared in 1999-2000 as part of the Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve.
Area: The wider corridor landscape spans an estimated 9,000 sq km. Melghat Tiger Reserve covers 2,768.52 sq km; Satpura Tiger Reserve covers 2,133.30 sq km (1,339.26 sq km core, 794.04 sq km buffer).
Tiger Population: Melghat Tiger Reserve supports about 46 tigers and Satpura Tiger Reserve about 42; the wider landscape, including the corridor, is estimated to support around 100 tigers in all.

Geographical Features

Terrain: Hilly, rugged terrain of the Satpura Range's south-western stretch, a horst mountain block bounded by the Narmada and Tapi grabens.
Melghat's Landscape: Melghat means "meeting of the ghats" — a tract of unending hills and ravines cut by steep cliffs.
River System: Forms the catchment for five rivers — the Khandu, Khapra, Sipna, Gadga and Dolar — all tributaries of the Tapti; the Satpura side lies closer to the Narmada-Tapti divide.
Forest Type: Classified as tropical dry deciduous forest, dominated by teak.

Flora

Dominant Species: Teak (Tectona grandis) is the most dominant tree species across the corridor.
Other Timber Species: Tiwas, Bija, Haldu, Saja, Dhawda, Ain, and Lendia are commonly found alongside teak.
Understorey: Bamboo forms a dense understorey in several stretches, particularly on the Satpura side.
Recorded Diversity: Melghat Tiger Reserve alone records 769 plant species across roughly 400 genera and 97 families, including 90 tree, 66 shrub, 316 herb, 56 climber, 23 sedge, and 99 grass species.

Fauna

Large Carnivores: Tiger, leopard, dhole (Asiatic wild dog), and sloth bear.
Herbivores: Gaur, nilgai, sambar, muntjac (barking deer), four-horned antelope (chausingha), and wild boar.

Significance

Landscape Connectivity: Maintains the contiguity of central India's forests, letting tigers disperse between the two reserves, which keeps gene flow healthy and prevents inbreeding in otherwise isolated populations.
High Centrality in the Central Indian Landscape: Genetic studies of the wider Satpura-Maikal tiger landscape have found this corridor has high centrality, meaning it plays an outsized role in keeping tiger populations across central India connected.
Recognised Priority Corridor: The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) treats it as one of central India's most critical wildlife corridors when reviewing infrastructure and irrigation projects proposed nearby.
Recurring Pressure Point: The corridor has repeatedly come under pressure from infrastructure and irrigation projects, including railway lines and dam proposals that cut through or threaten to submerge its notified forest area.