The area that is now the Kanha National Park was once a sportsman's paradise, as borne out by Dunbar Brander, who wrote in his epic book, Wild Animals in Central India: "This tract contained as much game as any tract I ever saw in the best parts of Africa in 1908… I have seen 1,500 head consisting of eleven species in an evening's stroll."

Both the Banjar and Halon valleys used to be the exclusive hunting grounds of the British. The area then supported the Swamp deer or Hardground Barasingha in such large numbers that they virtually dominated the landscape. Over hunting led to the forests being closed to shikar in 1931, and they were gazetted as a sanctuary in 1933. In 1955, a 250 sq km area was declared the Kanha National Park, primarily to save the Hardground Barasingha, exclusive only to India and severely threatened with extinction (numbers had fallen to 550). By now, Kanha was fairly well known, and administrators were always on the lookout to expand its protected area. Consequently land from surrounding areas was continually added, with the Mukki Valley also coming under its protective umbrella in 1970. In 1974, thanks to Project Tiger, a vital chunk of the upper Halon Valley towards the east was also included. Today the Kanha Tiger Reserve is a 1,945 sq km park, and a prime breeding habitat for the endangered cats.