The name Tadoba according to one legend, is traced back to a Gond King, named Taru, who was killed by a Tiger. Since the tribals worshiped the King, they erected a shrine in his memory. The shrine situated under a large tree on the shores of Lake Tadoba is still visited by local tribals during their annual fair held between Decemberand January.Clay artifacts of animals exhibited near the idols represent adivasi art and have not changed over the years.
Among the local Gond tribes, the mahua tree (Madhuca indica), represents life and is also known as the tree of life. It is said that in tribal families, when a child is born the nectar of the mahua flower is touched to its mouth even before mother's milk, and a promise is made by the parents that the child will look after the tree and all the surrounding forest, till his/her death. The creamy white flowers are full of sweet juices and are a feast for animals ranging from cheetal, sambar, sloth bears,wild boars and langurs. After digestion the flower generates alcohol and in the months of April, it is common to find zapped sloth bears sleeping peacefully out in the open. Normally, sloth bears sleep most of the day on rocky hills, in caves and crevices. The tribes also value the fruit for it's nutritive value and dry store it for consumption throughout the year.
The Gond kings once ruled these forests in the vicinity of the Chimur hills in Chandrapur district. Hunting was completely banned in 1935. Two decades later, in 1955, 116.54 sq.km. was declared as Tadoba National Park under the Madhya Pradesh National Park Act. The area was ceded to the state of Maharashtra in 1956. In 1986, an area of 509 sq. km. adjacent to the reserve was notified as the Andhari Wildlife Sanctuary. The two sanctuaries were subsequently integrated and in 1993, and it became a Project Tiger Reserve.
The local population comprises mainly Gond tribes who speak Marathi and Gondi. The tribes use the forest for several natural products. In these families, a newborn child is fed the nectar of the Mahua flower even before mother's milk to symbolize that the child and the tree will support each other all their lives. The adivasis also sprinkle the sacred water of the Tadoba lake on their crops during the rainy season, in the belief that it would protect their crops from pests.
