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

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, 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 List of states and union territories ...

state,

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. 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 Bhavnagar is a city and the headquarters of Bhavnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It was founded in 1723 by Bhavsinhji Gohil. It was the capital of Bhavnagar State, which was a princely state before it was merged into the Dominion ...

. Hugging the coasts of the

Gulf of Khambhat The Gulf of Khambhat, also 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 up to wi ...

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

maharaja Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent, Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and Medieval India, medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a pri ...

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

cheetahs The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat and the fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, with a short snout and blac ...

. On the northern side, it is surrounded by wastelands and agriculture fields. The

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

has been classified as 4B Gujarat-Rajwada biotic province of semi-arid bio-geographical zone. Flat land, dry grasses and herds of

antelope The term antelope refers to numerous extant or recently extinct species of the ruminant artiodactyl family Bovidae that are indigenous to most of Africa, India, the Middle East, Central Asia, and a small area of Eastern Europe. Antelopes do ...

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 a medium-sized 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 sh ...

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

and lesser florican (a bustard) are ongoing. Considered to be an

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

Indian

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

, 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 The striped hyena (''Hyaena hyaena'') is a species of hyena native to North and East Africa, the Middle East, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Hyaena''. It is listed by the IU ...

, with sightings quite frequent during daylight in winter 2012-2013.

Geography

In July 1976, when the park was established, the initial

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

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 aridity, dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below Evapotranspiration#Potential evapotranspiration, potential evapotranspiration, but not as l ...

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

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, 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 manifestation of its ...

s suitable for various dependent

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

of the park. According to a

remote sensing Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an physical object, 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 inform ...

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 dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

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

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally o ...

* 5.13 km² of saline land * 5.08 km² of high tidal

mudflat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal ...

s The mudflats are the high tide zones of Gulf of Khambhat and the lower part is prone to flooding.

Wildlife of Velvadar National Park

There several species of mammals recorded from the National Park, apart from large groups of

Blackbuck The blackbuck (''Antilope cervicapra''), also known as the Indian antelope, is a medium-sized 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 sh ...

; Indian Wolf,

Striped Hyena The striped hyena (''Hyaena hyaena'') is a species of hyena native to North and East Africa, the Middle East, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Hyaena''. It is listed by the IU ...

, Indian Fox,

Golden Jackal The golden jackal (''Canis aureus''), also called the common jackal, is a wolf-like canid that is native to Eurasia. The golden jackal's coat varies in color from a pale creamy yellow in summer to a dark tawny beige in winter. It is smaller a ...

and Jungle cat are 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 Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they ar ...

s of the Park. Other mammalian species include Bluebull, Wild/feral pig, Indian Hare and several species of rodents. Among

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

s, Lesser Florican (A monsoon breeding migrant) is the main attraction of the

National Park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

. Apart from Lesser Florican, Velavadar

Grasslands 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 such as clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur ...

are one of the largest roosting grounds of and three species of migratory Harriers (Viz.

Marsh Harrier The marsh harriers are bird of prey, birds of prey of the harrier (bird), harrier subfamily. They are medium-sized Bird of prey, raptors and the largest and broadest-winged harriers. Most of them are associated with marshland and dense reedbeds. ...

Pallid Harrier The pallid harrier (''Circus macrourus'') is a migratory bird of prey of the harrier subfamily. The scientific name is derived from the Ancient Greek. ''Circus'' is from ''kirkos'' (circle), referring to a bird of prey named for its circling fl ...

and Montagu's Harrier. Congregation of Harriers during late evening hours is the main attraction of the Park during winters. Apart from these, several species of grassland birds viz.

Sandgrouse Sandgrouse is the common name for Pteroclidae (), a family (biology), family of sixteen species of bird, members of the order Pterocliformes (). They are traditionally placed in two Genus, genera. The two central Asian species are classified as ...

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 occ ...

and passerines are also abundant in the Park. 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 is connected with

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

by daily flights. The closest international airport is Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport,

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

at 153 km by road. The closest railway station is at the town of Dhola Junction (30 km), followed by Bhavnagar Terminus which is 45 km, from the park. The ancient town of

Vallabhi Vallabhi (or Valabhi or Valabhipur) 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 Kingdom of Valabhi, an early medieval state rule ...

is about 30 km away.

References

External links