Blackbuck National Park, Velavadar

Blackbuck National Park, Velavadar, is located 150 km from Ahmedabad. This national park has an area of 34 square km. The northern part of this park is a grassland, and the southern part is a wetland. This park is famous for its large population of Blackbucks and recognized as one of the largest harrier roosts in the world.

In the last week of November, 2024, we visited Blackbuck National Park. Our morning safari started just after sunrise, at the wetland side. The sighting started with bluebull. The blue bull, or nilgai, is Asia's largest antelope.

The morning safari is a beautiful experience. Green is all around, birds are chirping, and blackbucks are walking slowly. Suddenly, two wolves are spotted.

We were thrilled. We saw wolves running towards us. We hoped to see the wolves from up close. Oops! They just disappeared in the grassland.
A blackbuck felt the presence of wolves; he started running.

A herd of blackbuck on the other side of the grassland was in a playful mood without knowing the presence of wolves.
We spend an hour waiting for wolves to come out of the grassland but have no luck!
We continued our journey toward the grassland of the National Park. On the way, we spotted birds and blackbucks.

At the grassland, we spotted a striped hyena! Our prime target.

The striped hyena is classified as near threatened, as the global population is estimated to be under 10,000 mature individuals.

According to our guide, there are only 10 to 12 hyenas living in this park. The good news is hyenas are protected in this park, and with time their number may increase.

The female striped hyena we spotted gave us enough opportunity to take photographs. She walked on the road, then crossed the road, drank water, and slowly disappeared into the grassland.
Our morning safari conclude with a sighting of a European roller.
The afternoon safari started around 3:30 pm. We spotted a common kestrel and a black-winged kite fighting over a perch of a tree. And the winner is black winged kite.
We spotted many birds - ducks and flamingoes from a distance, Montagu's harrier, Isabelline Wheatear, larks, and pelicans.

Jungle cat! Four kittens are spotted.

A short-toed snake eagle found on a perch, against the light and miles away, cannot take a decent photo.

We spotted the hyena again; this time she stayed in the grassland.

Many jungle cats are spotted from a distance. It is difficult to take a close-up shot. Finally, a bold jungle cat gave us a close-up photo opportunity.

After an eventful day, it is time to return to BlackBuck Homestay. We planned two more safaris tomorrow; let's hope for more sightings.