Guindy National Park – an abode to the Blackbuck in South India

Posted in Asia | June 11, 2010 | Comment Now

Guindy National Park is protected region of Tamil Nadu, which located in South India, in Chennai, moreover is regarded as one of the smallest National Parks of India as well as one of the dreadfully few national parks that are situated surrounded by a city. This park is an expansion of the grounds that surrounds Raj Bhavan, which is the official residence for the Governor of Tamilnadu. This park enlarges deep inside the estate of the governor and encloses beautiful forests, lakes, scrub lands, and streams.

Guindy National Park – Flora

This park has a thorn forest and dry evergreen scrub, grasslands as well as water-bodies with more than 350 kinds of plants, which includes shrubs, herbs, climbers, and grasses as well as more than 24 kinds of trees, which includes the Sugar-apple, Wood-apple, Atlantia monophylla, and Neem. The flora in this park provides a perfect habitat for more than 150 kinds of birds. About one-sixth of the park has been left as open grassland to preserve that habitat for blackbucks. Though both the species of blackbuck and spotted deer have their natural habitat in grassland, the spotted deer prefer bushes and can adjust in land covered with shrubbery.

Guindy National Park – Fauna

This park encloses more than 14 kinds of mammals, which includes Blackbuck, Jackal, Chital, Small Indian Civet, Bonnet Macaque, Common Palm Civet, as well as three-striped palm squirrel. The blackbuck is the endangered animal and is flagship species of this park; moreover its population has declined in recent times. In the year 2004, the total population of Blackbuck here was 405. The population of chital in this park in the year 2004 was 2,650 wherein 1,743 were females as well as 336 were fawns.

This park has more than 150 kinds of birds, which includes partridges, parrots, pheasants, quail, Black-winged kite, paradise fly-catcher, Honey Buzzard, Eagle and Pariah kite. Bird watchers look forward to the migratory birds in this park similar to teals, pochards, garganeys, Medium egrets, night herons, large egrets, pond herons as well as open-billed storks each fall season.

In addition there are numerous kinds of reptiles and amphibians. A few species of the tortoise and the turtles, in particular the endangered lizards, Star Turtle, chameleons, geckos, as well as the widespread Indian monitor lizard are additionally found in this park, also a huge diversity of insects, which includes 60 species of the spiders as well as 60 species of the butterflies.