Safari Zone 9

Key wildlife areas include Andha Kua, Jalna Khora, and Jatidham Nala, where permanent water attracts animals throughout the year. Rocky hills and secluded valleys are particularly productive for tigers, leopards, and striped hyenas.

This zone mainly functions as an important movement area connecting Zones 6, 7 and 10, and tiger and tigress movement is frequently recorded here.

Summer offers the best opportunities as wildlife concentrates around the remaining water sources. Early mornings and late afternoons are generally the most productive times for predator sightings.

Resident and dispersing tigers frequently move through Zone 9 while travelling between neighbouring territories. Leopards are commonly seen on rocky slopes, while striped hyenas, which prefer areas with lower tiger density, are more regularly encountered here than in the core zones. Occasional interactions between leopards and hyenas provide fascinating insights into predator behaviour.

Zone 9 gained national attention when an African cheetah dispersing from Kuno National Park briefly entered this landscape (June 2026). Although it later moved on, the event demonstrated the ecological connectivity between eastern Rajasthan and neighbouring Madhya Pradesh.