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Gir National Park -
160 kms from Rajkot
Gir has about 300
lions and 300 leopards, making it one of the major
big-cat concentrations in India. Sambar and spotted
deer (chital), blue bull (nilgai), chousingha (the
world's only four-horned antelope), chinkara (Indian
gazelle) and wild boar thrive in Gir. Jackal,
striped hyena, jungle cat, rusty-spotted cat,
langur, porcupine, black-naped Indian hare are among
the other mammals of Gir.
Gir has a large population of marsh crocodile or
mugger, which is among the 40 species of reptiles
and amphibians recorded in the sanctuary.
The park checklist has 250 birds and about 50 other
species (including the endangered lesser Florican
and the saras crane) are recorded in the grasslands
along the perifery of the sanctuary.
Many species
like the painted sand grouse, grey francolin,
quails, Asian paradise flycatcher, black-naped
monarch, white-browed fantail, Asian brown
flycatcher, grey-headed flycatcher, verditer
flycatcher, tickell's blue flycatcher, greenish
warbler, white-eye, coppersmith barbet, common and
marshal's iora, rufous treepie, yellow-footed green
pigeon have been spotted by our guests around the
lodge itself. Long-billed vulture, Indian
white-backed vulture, red-headed (king) vulture,
Eurasian griffon vulture, changeable hawk-eagle,
crested serpent eagle, bonneli's eagle, greater
spotted eagle, lesser spotted eagle, tawny eagle,
steppe eagle, imperial eagle, Pallas's fish eagle,
grey-headed fish eagle, osprey, peregrine falcon,
laggar falcon, red-headed falcon, oriental
honey-buzzard, white-eyed buzzard and other raptors
have been seen in the sanctuary. Gir also has brown
fish owl, Eurasian eagle owl, spotted owlet. In the
evening, nightjars can be seen near the lodge gate.
(Source - Gir Birding Lodge)
Jeep Safaris can
be organised by the Resorts here.
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