Gujarat National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries & Ramsar Sites

Blackbuck (Velavadar) National Park

• It is located in the Bhal region of Saurashtra. It is bordered by the Gulf of Khambhat on the south.
• Vegetation: Savanna grassland.
• Major Fauna: Blackbucks (LC), hyenas, jungle cats.
• Major Avifauna: Lesser florican (a bustard; CR).

Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary

• Gir National Park (Sasan Gir) is near Talala Gir. Today, it is the only area in Asia where Asiatic lions occur. Kamleshwar Dam on Hiran River is called ‘the lifeline of Gir’.
• Vegetation: Dry deciduous forest.
• Major Flora: Teak, acacia, babul (acacia), tendu and dhak.
• Major Fauna: Asiatic lion (EN), mugger crocodile (VU), leopard, chital, sambar, chausingha, chinkara, blackbuck.

Marine National Park (Gulf of Kachchh)

• Marine National Park (Gulf of Kutch) is situated in the Dwarka area.
• Major Fauna: Corals, sea turtles such as green sea turtles (EN), olive ridleys (VU) and leatherbacks (VU), dugongs (sea cow; VU), Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins.
• Threats: Extraction of corals and sands by cement industries, increased turbidity of water, oil refineries, chemical industries, and mechanized fishing boats.

Vansda (Bansda) National Park

• It is located on the banks of Ambika River in the Western Ghats.
• Vegetation: Deciduous forests.
• Major Flora: Teak, bamboo, sisam trees.
• Major Fauna: Indian leopard, rhesus macaque, small Indian civet, chausingha, Indian (Malabar) giant squirrel.

Wildlife Sanctuaries of Gujarat

Balaram Ambaji Wildlife Sanctuary

• It is located to the south of Mt. Abu (in Aravallis) at the Gujarat-Rajasthan border.
• Major Fauna: Sloth bear, striped hyena, leopard, Nilgai, Indian porcupine, small Indian civet, Indian pangolin.

Barda Wildlife Sanctuary

• It is located near Porbandar .
• It was a previous range of Asiatic lions.

Gaga (Great Indian Bustard) Wildlife Sanctuary

• It is situated in the Saurashtra peninsula on the coast of the Gulf of Kutch.
• It is established to protect Great Indian Bustard (CR). Along with Kutch Bustard Sanctuary, Gaga Wildlife Sanctuary is one of two great Indian bustard sanctuaries in Gujarat.

Girnar Wildlife Sanctuary

• It is located in the Girnar Hills.
• It is famous for Asiatic lions (EN).

Jessore Sloth Bear Wildlife Sanctuary

• It is established to the south of Mt. Abu at the Gujarat-Rajasthan border for the protection of sloth bear (VU).
• The Banas River separates Jessore Sloth Bear Wildlife Sanctuary from Balaram Ambaji Wildlife Sanctuary.

Kutch (Lala-Parjan) Great Indian Bustard Wildlife Sanctuary

• It is established to protect Great Indian Bustard (CR) (locally called Ghorad). Along with Gaga Wildlife Sanctuary, it is one of two great Indian bustard sanctuaries in Gujarat.

Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary

• It is a shallow seasonal saline wetland in the Great Rann of Kutch. Fossils of dinosaurs, crocodiles and whales have been recovered from here.
• Major Avifauna: Greater flamingos.

Nal Sarovar Bird Wildlife Sanctuary (BS) (Ramsar Site)

• It is a natural freshwater lake (a relict sea) located in the Thar Desert. It is the largest wetland Bird Sanctuary in Gujarat.
• The wetland is a lifeline for the Indian Wild Ass (NT) & blackbuck (LC). It is inhabited by migratory birds.
• Avifauna: Flamingos, storks, herons, waterfowls.

Narayan Sarovar Chinkara Wildlife Sanctuary

• It is located near Kori Creek. Its flagship species is chinkara (LC). This Wildlife Sanctuary and Banni Grasslands (both in Kutch) have been proposed as possible sites for the reintroduction of the Asiatic cheetah (CR).

Purna Wildlife Sanctuary

• It is located in the Western Ghats in Gujarat and Maharashtra and Purna River flows through it.
• It is adjacent to the Vansda (Bansda) National Park.

Shoolpaneswar (Dhumkhal) Wildlife Sanctuary

• It is located in the Satpura Range south of the Narmada River. It shares a common boundary with Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Tapti River separates Shoolpaneswar Wildlife Sanctuary from Purna Wildlife Sanctuary.

Thol Lake Wildlife Sanctuary

• It is a man-made reservoir in Mehsana and is the most popular birding place near Ahmedabad after Nal Sarovar.
• Major Avifauna: Flamingos, sarus cranes, great white pelicans, white-rumped vulture, Indian vulture.

Wild Ass Wildlife Sanctuary

• It is located in the Little Rann of Kutch. It is one of the last places where Indian wild ass (NT) can be spotted.
• Threats: Illegal salt panning.

Others

• Khijadiya Bird Wildlife Sanctuary (BS): Jamnagar district.
• Mitiyala Wildlife Sanctuary: Grassland with semi-dry deciduous trees. It is almost like an offshoot of Gir Lion Sanctuary.
• Porbandar Bird Wildlife Sanctuary: In the heart of city of Porbandar.
• Ratanmahal Sloth Bear Wildlife Sanctuary: Dahod district.

Ramsar Sites of Gujarat (4)

Khijadia WLS

• It is a freshwater wetland located in Jamnagar District near the Gulf of Kutch. It was formed following the creation of a bund (dike) to protect farmland from saltwater ingress.
• Endangered Species: Pallas’s Fish-Eagle (EN), Indian Skimmer (EN), Indian Bdellium-Tree (CR)

Nalsarovar BS

• It is the largest natural freshwater lake (a relict sea) in the Thar Desert of Gujarat. The wetland is a lifeline for a satellite population of the endangered Indian Wild Ass (NT).
• Avifauna: Sociable Lapwing (CR), Sarus Crane (VU)

Thol Lake

• It is a human-made reservoir essential during the dry seasons for Blackbucks (LC).
• Endangered Avifauna: White-Rumped Vulture (CR), Sociable Lapwing (CR)

Wadhvana Wetland

• This human-made reservoir is located in a semi-arid agricultural landscape.
• Endangered Avifauna: Pallas’s Fish-Eagle (EN), Sarus Crane (VU), Common Pochard (VU)