Living in the northern part of the reserve, they are named such due to their skill in honey collection – jenu means honey. These communities are concentrated in the Mysore and Kodagu districts in the Karnataka part of the NBR. Cultivable land has been given to these communities, though they are traditionally hunter-gatherers. Some of the people undertake seasonal agriculture or else depend on wage labour. They collect forest produce, mainly honey, during the season and
travel sometimes across the forest to Kerala to sell it. They are socially organized into groups and sangams in different zones. There are approximately 40,000 Jenu Kurumbas in the NBR.
