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 areawise. The sanctuary supports wide variety of water birds and mammalian wildlife.
The variegated landscape of the Sanctuary offers an interesting mix of flora. The two hills, Kala Dungar and Goro Dungar and surrounding regions are populated with “gando baval” or prosopis chilensis, kahri jar, gugal, Thor, mithi jar, khijdo, hermo baval, kerdo, bokhani and other trees as also shrubs, cactii and grasses. It is worth hiring a car or Jeep or SUV to explore the vast stretches of the Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary and get a closer look at its fauna. The sanctuary is home to animals both carnivorous and non-carnivorous. There are blackbucks, chinkaras and nilgai as well as wildasses. Then there are predators like hyenas, wolves, and foxes in addition to jungle cats, lizards and snakes. As for birds there are dozens of species of which the Flamingo is undoubtedly the most popular. One can come across white pelicans, avocets, the great Indian bustard, painted sandgrouse, larks steppe eagles and waterfowls. During the daytime the animals may not be active but dawn and dusk is the time to see them near watering holes.
