The park hosts Bengal tiger, Indian leopard, sloth bear, barasingha and dhole.

[2] Kanha Tiger Reserve encompasses an area of 940 km2 (360 sq mi) in the two districts Mandla and Balaghat in Madhya Pradesh.

[3][4] The lowland forest in Kanha Tiger Reserve is a mixture of sal (Shorea robusta) and other mixed-forest trees, interspersed with meadows.

The highland forests are tropical moist, dry deciduous with bamboo (Dendrocalamus strictus) on slopes and Indian ghost tree (Sterculia urens).

In 1938, there were more than 3000 Barasingha in the Kanha National Park, but their number declined to 66 in 1966-67 due to loss of ideal habitat.