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 one of the largest seasonal saline wetlands having an average water depth between 0.5 to 1.5 metres. By October–November each year, rain water dries up and the entire area turns into saline desert. The sanctuary supports wide variety of water birds and mammalian wildlife.
Flamingo City:
It encompasses 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 Kala Dungar hill. It is the only area where flamingoes congregate to breed regularly.
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 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 the "India Bridge" several hundred square kilometers of Rann is pure white like snow with heavy deposit of salt crystals. The marshy Rann here becomes pure white and flat till the eye can see, till the horizon after the rain water has dried up, in the winters every year.
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.
In Popular Culture:
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 based around the Great Rann of Kutch titled "LOVE ACROSS THE SALT DESERT" which is also included as one of the short stories in the School Standard XII syllabus English text book of NCERT in India.
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.
