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Bhuj
Wildlife
Narayan Sarovar Sanctuary is a unique area in the country. It supports 15 threatened species of wildlife belonging to Schedule-I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Some of the species of semi-desert habitat, which are recorded in this region, are not common in other areas in the country. Scrub and desert thorn forest interspersed with numerous seasonal water-bodies and grassy patches provide an ideal habitat for chinkara, caracal, ratel, wolf, desert cat, desert fox, great Indian bustard, lesser florican and a variety of waterfowl. Forests in this dry zone have started degrading due to expansion of desert and progress of the process of desertification. The Sanctuary is considered important ecological unit for maintaining environmental and ecological stability. The area has a very high conservation value for scientific research. 5/D-Dry deciduous Scrub, 6/E4 -Salvadora scrub, 6B/C-Desert Thorn Forest, 5/E3 -Babul (Acacia nilotica} forest, 6B/DS2-Tropical Euphorbia scrub, 5/DS5-Dry Savannah type vegetation, Acacia nilotica- Salvadora association, 6/E2-Gorad (Acacia Senegal), 6B/ DS1-Zizyphus scrub and Capparis association is the different vegetation seen here. 'Gorad' and 'Babul' are predominant plant species. 'Babul' is found extensively in the western zone with lime stone formation, whereas 'Gorad' is main species in the eastern zone, which covers extensive area. Some of the patches are also planted with Prosopis juliflora, which has started spreading in the Sanctuary, leading to decrease of grassy and herbaceous patches, but rate of invasion is less compared to extensive area of Prosopis in other parts of the district. Jakho Bandar, Koteshwar Temple, Ashapura Madh, Dhinopdhar Hill, Lakhpat Tower are other places worth visiting. Best Season to Visit: How to Get There:
Kuchh Desert Wildlife Sanctuary Best Spots to visit:
This is the largest sanctuary in the state and one of the largest in the country too. Of the 7505.22 sq. km area of the Sanctuary, 109.00 sq. km is the forest area notified under section- 4 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 and 1313.07 sq. km is a revenue wasteland. The Sanctuary is located in the north-eastern part of Kuchh district bordering Pakistan and Wild Ass Sanctuary. It was declared as a sanctuary in February 1986. The Great Rann, a part of the Rann of Kutch, is a salt-impregnated wilderness region having an area of about 16000 sq. km. Its average altitude is 15 m above Mean Sea Level (MSL). The area encompassed by the Sanctuary is characterized by vast, salt-impregnated sun-baked mud flats, which are dotted with small patches of uplands and few hilly islands (locally called 'bets'). Though the Great Rann is similar to the Little Rann in several ways, the former differs in its silt deposition characteristics. Thus, the silt of the Great Rann has been the deposit of the Indus River, unlike that of the Little Rann, which shows strong affinity to the material that was derived from the local sources of Gujarat. Waters of the Arabian Sea enter the Rann through the Kori creek. During the Mesozoic period (65-60 million years ago), the Great Rann was a part of the Arabian Sea. However, when Alexander the Great visited the area in 325 B. C. the Rann was no longer an arm of the sea, but it was a navigable lake. It was a shallow lagoon during the 3rd century A.D. The Great Rann has been tectonically unstable since a long time. A major tectonic earthquake destroyed the Indus River connection with Kori creek. The earthquake also gave rise to the 'Allah Band's linear mound-like formation, about 5-10 m high and 50 km long. How to Get There
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Narayan
Sarovar Sanctuary
Location:
Rann of Kuchh