India – About Outdoors

The Thar Desert

April 20, 2018 Caravan Outdoors1 Comment

The Thar located in India and Pakistanis the largest desert in the Indian subcontinent . Also known as the Great Indian Desert, the area of the entire desert spans over 200,000 km2. It is also one of the most popular tourist destinations in India for its rich culture, picturesque sites and historical palaces.

Overview

The Thar desert in India mostly lies in the state of Rajasthan. The rest spans across Haryana, Punjab and Gujarat. Around 15% of the desert lies in the state of Sindh and West Punjab in Pakistan.

Rainfall is limited only during July-September, with 100-500 mm of annual rainfall; hence, vegetation is scare. Most of the irrigation is conducted through the water supplied from canals. The people living in the desert mostly involve in animal husbandry and agriculture. The lifestyle is simpler.

Lithic tools belonging to the prehistoric Aterian culture of the Maghreb have been discovered in Middle Paleolithic deposits in the Thar.

People & Lifestyle

The Thar is the most populated among the desert areas in the world. The people of various religions are found in the area, mainly; Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs. There are fewer large settlements in the area. Jaipur remains the highest populated city. followed by Udaypur, Kota, Ajmer, Bikaner, Jaisalmer are others.

The inhabitants of the area have a well suited lifestyle for desert. They tend to conserve more water. Their meals tend to use less water during preparation. The clothing and texture derives from the history of the region. Their certain colorful texture, calligraphy and art is endemic to the people of Rajasthan.

The former royalties, comprising of Rajputs and their sub-clans are still found in the region. The palaces and historical sites are well preserved for the incoming tourists.

Most of the inhabitants of the desert enjoy folk music and culture. Rajasthan has a diverse collection of musician castes, including langas, sapera, bhopa, jogi and Manganiar.

Wildlife

There are several protected areas inside the desert established to preserve local culture and wildlife. The Desert National Park, Tal Chhapar Sanctuary, Sundha Mata Conservation Reserve, and Nara Desert Wildlife Sanctuary and Rann of Kutch Wildlife Sanctuary of Pakistan are the designated protected areas.

Blackbuck, Chinkara, Indian Wild Ass, Red Fox, 141 birds, 23 species of lizard and 25 species of snakes are found in the region.

Tourist Attractions

Amer Fort, Hawa Mahal, City Palace, Mehrangarh Fort, Jantarmantar, Ranthanbore National Park, Lake Pichola, Jal Mahal, Jaisalmer Desert Festival, Pushkar Fair, Mohenjo Daro and Derawar Fort are few of the best tourist sites in the Thar.

Desert King

Young Muslim woman in Thar

Thar Ethnic settlement

Thar satellite view

Water/Butter/Milk container

Chinkara

Thar desert

Gaduliya

Camel safari at Jaisalmer

Blackbuck

Kaziranga National Park

December 6, 2017December 6, 2017 Caravan OutdoorsLeave a comment

Kaziranga National Park located at North East India is one of the most popular ecological sites in the Indian subcontinent. The national park is popular for hosting the two-third population of the One-horned Rhinos in the world. Established during the British Raj in 1908, it boasts the most varied flora and fauna in the entire nation.

Overview

Kaziranga National Park 430 km² is located in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of Assam, India. The park is located on the edge of Eastern Himalaya biodiversity hotspot. Even though it was established in 1908, the park was added to the World Heritage Sites by UNESCO only on 1985.

The park is popular for hosting the largest amount of One-horned Rhinos along with Royal Bengal Tigers. Kaziranga is home to the highest density of tigers among protected areas in the world, and was declared a Tiger Reserve in 2006.

The park experiences 3 different weathers; Summer, Monsoon and Winter. During Monsoon (Jul-August), most part of the park is submerged into water, due to rising level of water from rainfall and flooding.

History

The history of the national park dates back to 1904 when Mary Curzon, Baroness Curzon of Kedleston and the wife of the then Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon of Kedleston, visited the area. After failing to see a single rhinoceros, for which the area was renowned, she persuaded Lord Curzon to take immediate measure to protect the lessening Rhino species in the region.

On 1 June 1905, the Kaziranga Proposed Reserve Forest was created with an area of 232 km².

One Horned Rhinos

[Full Article One-horned Rhino]

There are over 2,200 One-horned Rhinos in the Kaziranga area, approximately 2/3 of their entire population. One Horned Rhino is endemic to Indian subcontinent. Found mostly in India, Nepal and Bangladesh, they have been listed in the IUCN Red list for the most vulnerable animals, and only about 3,000 are left in the wild.

Rhinos are one of the most hunted and poached animals in the history. The passionate hunters from 20th Century reduced their numbers from thousands to mere few hundreds.

The activity of rampant poaching which started in the 1990s made them even more scarce. They were being mostly poached for their horns, which are believed to carry medicinal qualities. The local authorities and UNESCO helped prevent poaching in the Kaziranga park. Today, it boasts the most amount of Rhinos in the world.

These rhinos live in tall grasslands and riverine forests but due to habitat loss they have been forced into more cultivated land. They are mostly solitary creatures, with the exception of mothers and calves and breeding pairs, although they sometimes congregate at bathing areas.

Preservation

Kaziranga contains significant breeding populations of 35 mammalian species, of which 15 are threatened as per the IUCN Red List. It is also home to a variety of migratory birds, water birds, predators, scavengers, and game birds.

Four main types of vegetation exist in this park. These are alluvial inundated grasslands, alluvial savanna woodlands, tropical moist mixed deciduous forests, and tropical semi-evergreen forests. The park is mostly an expanse of tall elephant grass, marshland, and dense tropical moist broadleaf forests.

The area is controlled by the Government of Assam. They receive financial aid from the state government and the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change of India.

One-horned Rhino at Kaziranga

Rhinos seen at Kajiranga National Park

Gallus Gallus at Kaziranga

Haliaeetus leucoryphus

Rhino fight at Baroda. rhinos were tussled in the ring for the entertainment during the times of Maharaja

One-horned Rhino habitat (Prehistoric range spanned from Afghanistan to Bhutan)

Royal Bengal Tiger

March 29, 2017 Caravan OutdoorsLeave a comment

Bengal Tiger is endemic to the Indian subcontinent. Found mostly in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan, they have been listed in the IUCN Red list for the endangered animals; and only about 2,500 are left in the wild.

Popularly known as the Royal Bengal Tiger, it is known as the most fierce and stealth hunter in the wild. A Bengal tiger is known to track its prey for days and go to extreme physical length for a hunt.

Factfile

Family	Felidae
Species	Panthera Tigris
Height	85 – 110 cm
Weight	320 – 350 kg
Length	270 – 310 cm
Habitat	Tropical evergreen forests, decidious forests and mangroves
Location	India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan

Overview

Bengal tiger is the largest among the Felidae, and falls under Panthera Tigris sub-category. The distant cousins of our favorite felines, cats, Bengal tigers mostly inhabit the thick forests of the Indian sub-continent.

Tigers are apex predators, primarily preying on ungulates such as deer and bovids. They are territorial and generally solitary but social animals, often requiring large contiguous areas of habitat that support their prey requirements. They hunt all by themselves and are known for their fierce and nocturnal methods of hunting.

They sit at the top of the food chain, hence, preserving them becomes essential to maintain the overall biodiversity.

Most Bengal Tigers are found in India. The 2010 survey resulted in an estimated population of 1,706 in India, Bangladesh (440), Nepal (155) and Bhutan (75).

A white Bengal Tiger with black stripes is because of gene mutation and not because they are albino. There’s been only one case recorded when a complete black tiger was found in Chittagong in 1846.

Hunting & Poaching

Tigers were once the most prized animal for hunting. The expedition led by Maharajas and British officials, along with professional hungers reduced the number of tigers from 100,000 to just few hundred in a century.

Tiger hunt during the British expedition

The activity of rampant poaching which was banned and marked illegal in 1993 made them even more scarce. The skin and bones of tiger is supposedly known to carry medicinal properties. Most of the poached animal parts are traded into East Asia to be turned into medicines for various ailments.

The two other major reasons for their dwindling number is the prey loss and the conflict with humans. The deforestation and human settlements around their habitat has caused many tigers to get killed during the conflict.

Conservation

WWF along with the respective stakeholders of each country have been working since the last four decades to control poaching, human animal conflict and increase their number in the wild. Today, they are mainly kept under the surveillance in the Buffer zones, national parks and conservation areas.

Chitwan National Park (UNESCO World Heritage Site), covering 932 km², was established in 1973 in the subtropical inner Terai belts of South-central Nepal. It is known as the first national park of Nepal. A buffer zone, it protects endangered species of Royal Bengal Tiger and One-horned Rhinos. Banke National Park, Shukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve and Bardia National Park are other buffer zones dedicated for the tigers in Nepal.

With just one tiger, we protect around 25,000 acres of forest. These ecosystems supply both nature and people with fresh water, food, and health. ~WWF