Blackbuck National Park is a national park in India located at Velavadar in the Bhavnagar District of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

state,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Established in 1976 in the

Bhal region The Bhal region is an area of Gujarat, India. It is spread across the political boundaries of the districts of Bhavnagar, Ahmedabad, and Anand. The Bhal region is situated on the deltas of the Sabarmati, Bhogawo, Bhadar, Lilka and other ...

of Saurashtra, the park is located around 42 km from the district headquarters city of Bhavnagar. Hugging the coasts of the

Gulf of Khambhat The Gulf of Khambhat, historically known as the Gulf of Cambay, is a bay on the Arabian Sea coast of India, bordering the state of Gujarat just north of Mumbai and Diu Island. The Gulf of Khambhat is about long, about wide in the north and u ...

on the south, it is spread over an area of 34.08 km², which was primarily a "vidi" (grassland) of the

maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, a ...

of the princely state of Bhavnagar for hunting the blackbucks with his famous hunting

cheetahs The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

. On the northern side, it is surrounded by wastelands and agriculture fields. The national park has been classified as 4B Gujarat-Rajwada biotic province of semi-arid bio-geographical zone. Flat land, dry grasses and herds of antelope have always attracted visitors to this park which has a grassland ecosystem. Successful conservation programs for the

blackbuck The blackbuck (''Antilope cervicapra''), also known as the Indian antelope, is an antelope native to India and Nepal. It inhabits grassy plains and lightly forested areas with perennial water sources. It stands up to high at the shoulder. Ma ...

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

and

lesser florican The lesser florican (''Sypheotides indicus''), also known as the likh or ''kharmore'', is the smallest in the bustard family and the only member of the genus ''Sypheotides''. It is endemic to the Indian Subcontinent where it is found in tall gras ...

bustard Bustards, including floricans and korhaans, are large, terrestrial birds living mainly in dry grassland areas and on the steppes of the Old World. They range in length from . They make up the family Otididae (, formerly known as Otidae). Bustar ...

) are ongoing. Considered to be an

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

Indian

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

, the lesser florican, which once lived throughout the country, has become endangered in recent decades. Today, the largest population is in this park. Local wolf numbers are increasing, as are striped hyena, with sightings quite frequent during daylight in winter 2012-2013.

Geography

In July 1976, when the park was established, the initial protected area measured about 18 km². In 1980, another 16 km² were added, increasing the total area to 34.08 km². A southern portion of the park, which adjoins the Gulf of Khambhat, is in the Gulf's high tide zone and gets inundated with water. However, its

semi-arid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi- ...

conditions, together with this inundation of seawater during monsoon, creates

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s suitable for various dependent

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as ''Biota (ecology ...

of the park. According to a

remote sensing Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon without making physical contact with the object, in contrast to in situ or on-site observation. The term is applied especially to acquiring information about Eart ...

study of habitat types, the park area is classified as follows: * 7.57 km² of dense

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

* 9.91 km² of sparse grassland * 5.05 km² of ''

Prosopis ''Prosopis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It contains around 45 species of spiny trees and shrubs found in subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas, Africa, Western Asia, and South Asia. They often thrive in ari ...

'' shrubland * 5.13 km² of saline land * 5.08 km² of high tidal mudflats The mudflats are the high tide zones of Gulf of Khambhat and the lower part is prone to flooding.

Wildlife Names in Gujarat

There are some names of wildlife of blackbuck National park ''blackbucks'', ''wolves,

Macqueen's bustard MacQueen's bustard (''Chlamydotis macqueenii'') is a large bird in the bustard family. It is native to the desert and steppe regions of Asia, west from the Sinai Peninsula extending across Kazakhstan east to Mongolia. In the 19th century, vagrant ...

s, hyenas'' and

s, with foxes,

jackal Jackals are medium-sized canids native to Africa and Eurasia. While the word "jackal" has historically been used for many canines of the subtribe canina, in modern use it most commonly refers to three species: the closely related black-backed ...

s and

jungle cat The jungle cat (''Felis chaus''), also called reed cat, swamp cat and jungle lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to the Middle East, the Caucasus, South and Southeast Asia and southern China. It inhabits foremost wetlands like swamps, littoral ...

s as the main

carnivore A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other s ...

s. Other species include wild pigs, hares and

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are n ...

s typical of the

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

h type grasslands and

thorn scrub Deserts and xeric shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Deserts and xeric (ancient Greek xērós, “dry") shrublands form the largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of Earth's land surface area. Ecoregions in this h ...

s. Among

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

sandgrouse Sandgrouse is the common name for Pteroclidae , a family of sixteen species of bird, members of the order Pterocliformes . They are traditionally placed in two genera. The two central Asian species are classified as '' Syrrhaptes'' and the othe ...

and

lark Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. Larks have a cosmopolitan distribution with the largest number of species occurring in Africa. Only a single species, the horned lark, occurs in North America, and only Horsfield's bush lark oc ...

s are seen in fair numbers. According to Roger Geoffrey Clarke, the British harrier-expert, the harrier roost found at the park is one of the largest in the world.

Gallery

Blackbucks (Antilope cervicapra) (19726308174).jpg, Male and female blackbucks CourtshipDisplay.jpg, Blackbuck antelopes Striped Hyena - Shreeram M V - Velavadar Blackbuck National Park, Gujarat, India.jpg, Striped Hyena at Velavadar Blackbuck National Park Blackbucks in Blackbuck National Park 05.jpg, Blackbuck antelopes crossing a dirt road Circaetus gallicus in flight velvadar.JPG, Short-toed snake eagle Indian Wolf Photo Dhaval Vargiya.jpg, Indian Wolf at Velavadar (Blackbuck National Park, Gujarat) Nilgai in Blackbuck National Park 04.jpg, Two female nilgais Nilgai1.jpg, Male nilgai at Blackbuck National Park

Tourist information

Though the park is open most of the year, it remains strictly closed in monsoon from 15 June to 15 October: this is breeding season for blackbuck and very important species like the lesser florican, the smallest bustard. The period from late October to the end of March is recommended for visitors. The best time to visit is from December to March as many species of migratory, including three species of harriers, the lesser florican, eagles and waders, migrate back.

Bhavnagar Airport Bhavnagar Aerodrome is an airport located 4 kilometres (2 mi) southeast of Bhavnagar, Gujarat, India. It covers at an elevation of . It is near Bhavnagar Harbour Bhavnagar airstrip year 1961 . Facilities ;Runway The airport has o ...

is connected with

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

by daily flights. The closest international airport is

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel (; ; 31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950), commonly known as Sardar, was an Indian lawyer, influential political leader, barrister and statesman who served as the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of I ...

at 153 km by road. The closest railway station is at the town of Dhola, which is about 50 km from the park. The ancient town of

Vallabhi Vallabhi (or Valabhi or Valabhipur, modern Vala; Devanāgarī: वल्लभी) is an ancient city located in the Saurashtra peninsula of Gujarat, near Bhavnagar in western India. It is also known as Vallabhipura and was the capital of the S ...

is about 30 km away.

References

External links