Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary

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Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Location Gujarat, India
Coordinates 23°55′N70°26′E / 23.91°N 70.44°E / 23.91; 70.44
Area7506.22 km2

The Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary is situated in the Great Rann of Kutch, Kutch district, Gujarat, India. It was declared a sanctuary in February 1986. It is the largest Wildlife Sanctuary in India regarding its size. [1]

Contents

It is one of the largest seasonal saline wetlands having an average water depth between 0.5 and 1.5 metres. By October–November each year, rain water dries up and the entire area turns into saline desert. The sanctuary supports a wide variety of water birds and mammalian wildlife.

Flamingo City

It encloses a true saline desert where thousands of greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) nest in the world-famous ‘Flamingo City’ located in the mud flats of the Rann, about 10 km from Nir outpost on the Kala Dungar hill, where flamingoes used to congregate during their breeding season in the past.

As per a television series, National Security by Rajya Sabha TV, the flamingo city is now a dead patch of land and flamingos do not come to breed here any longer. [2]

Indo-Pak International border

The northern boundary of this sanctuary forms the international border between India and Pakistan and is heavily patrolled by the Border Security Force in India with much of this sanctuary being closed to civilians after crossing the India Bridge at Kala dungar (Black hill), Khavda. Tourists and researchers can only enter here with special permission from the BSF.

Snow white Rann

In the area controlled and patrolled by the Border Security Force (BSF) after crossing the "India Bridge", several hundred square kilometers of Rann appear like pure white snow with heavy deposits of salt crystals. The marshy Rann here becomes white and flat as far as the eye can see, after the rain water has dried up during winter.

Excavated city of Dholavira from the Harappan civilization

Buried nearby to the breeding field of the flamingoes, is the ancient excavated city of Dholavira from the Harappan civilization, attracting archeologists from all over the world.

Ancient fossil beds

This sanctuary has some other ancient attractions as well. Embedded in the Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks on Khadir, Kuvar and Pachchham bet islands in the Greater Rann, are plenty of fossils of vertebrates, invertebrates and plants. Fossils of dinosaurs, crocodiles (of the 'Dinosaurian period') and whales (dating from the Tertiary period) have been recorded to have been recovered from here. Fossilized trees and forests are found here in the rocks belonging to the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. The fossils of invertebrates here include those of sea urchins, ammonites and such others.

J. P. Dutta's Bollywood film Refugee is shot on location in the Great Rann of Kutch and other locations in the Kutch district of Gujarat, India. This film is inspired by the famous story by Keki N. Daruwalla and set in the Great Rann of Kutch. It is titled "LOVE ACROSS THE SALT DESERT" [3] which is included as one of the short stories in the School Standard XII syllabus English text book of NCERT in India. [4]

Wildlife Sanctuaries and Reserves of Kutch

From the city of Bhuj various ecologically rich and wildlife conservation areas of the Kutch / Kachchh district can be visited such as Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary, Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary, Narayan Sarovar Sanctuary, Kutch Bustard Sanctuary, Banni Grasslands Reserve and Chari-Dhand Wetland Conservation Reserve etc. Across the border in Pakistan, the Rann of Kutch Wildlife Sanctuary preserves 566,375 hectares.

See also

Related Research Articles

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The Great Rann of Kutch is a salt marsh in the Thar Desert in the Kutch District of Gujarat, India. It is about 7500 km2 in area and is reputed to be one of the largest salt deserts in the world. This area has been inhabited by the Kutchi people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kutch district</span> District in Gujarat, India

Kutch district, officially spelled Kachchh, is a district of Gujarat state in western India, with its headquarters (capital) at Bhuj. Covering an area of 45,674 km2, it is the largest district of India. The area of Kutch is larger than the entire area of other Indian states like Haryana (44,212 km2) and Kerala (38,863 km2), as well as the country of Estonia (45,335 km2). The population of Kutch is about 2,092,371. It has 10 talukas, 939 villages and 6 municipalities. The Kutch district is home to the Kutchi people who speak the Kutchi language.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary</span> Indian wildlife sanctuary

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<i>Refugee</i> (2000 film) 2000 Indian film

Refugee is a 2000 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film written and directed by J. P. Dutta. It marked the debut of both the leading actors, Abhishek Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor. The film also starred Jackie Shroff, Sunil Shetty, and Anupam Kher. Refugee was an average grosser at the box office and was the fifth highest-grossing film of that year.

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Keki N. Daruwalla is an Indian poet and short story writer in English. He is also a former Indian Police Service officer. He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award, in 1984 for his poetry collection, The Keeper of the Dead, by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters. He was awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India, in 2014.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narayan Sarovar Sanctuary</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kutch Bustard Sanctuary</span> National park in Gujarat, India

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Kutch generally refers to the Kutch district, a district of Gujarat state in western India. It may also refer to:

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The Road to Heaven is a highway located in the Kutch District of Gujarat, India. It spans approximately 30 kilometers through the Great Rann of Kutch, providing stunning views of India's largest salt plain. This road forms part of the national highway connecting Ghaduli to Santalpur and has become renowned for its scenic beauty and the distinctive driving experience it provides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khadir Bet</span> Island in Gujarat, India

Khadir Bet is an island located in the Great Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, India. It spans around 200 square kilometers. It is known for its archaeological significance, particularly as the site of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization city of Dholavira, also a UNESCO world heritage site.

References

  1. ↑ "Wildlife Sanctuaries". Wiienvis.nic.in. Retrieved 2022-08-06.
  2. ↑ "National Security: BSF in Mysterious Rann of Kutch". Rajya Sabha TV. RAjya Sabha TV. 18 March 2015. Archived from the original on 2021-12-20. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  3. ↑ LOVE ACROSS THE SALT DESERT Archived 2013-12-02 at the Wayback Machine ; by Keki N. Daruwalla. Pdf of full story posted at Boston University at Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine . Bollywood connection - J. P. Dutta's "Refugee" is said to be inspired by this story Archived 2013-12-02 at the Wayback Machine ; learnhub, University of Dundee
  4. ↑ (iii) Supplementary Reader; Selected Pieces of General English for Class XII; English General - Class XII Archived January 29, 2011, at the Wayback Machine ; Curriculum and Syllabus for Classes XI & XII; NCERT. Also posted at / , "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 10, 2009. Retrieved January 6, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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