Established in 1976 in the Bhal region of Saurashtra, the Velvadar wildlife park is located around 72 km from the district headquarter city of Bhavnagar. Hugging the coasts of the Gulf of Khambhat on the south, it is spread over an area of 34.08 km², which was primarily a “vidi” (grassland) of the Maharaja of the princely state of Bhavnagar. 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 antelopes have always attracted visitors to this park which has a unique grassland ecosystem running a successful conservation program of the Blackbuck, the Wolf and the Lesser Florican (a bustard) among others. Considered to be an exclusive Indian species, the Lesser Floricans, which were free dwellers throughout the country, have their numbers plummeting in the recent decades almost everywhere in India. Today, the largest population has been sustained in this park. (source: Wikipedia)
Our journalist, Aditi Gupta visited the sanctuary and click a few pictures depicting the natural wildlife beauty of Velvadar. Click on the photos to launch the slideshow.
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