A variety of habitats-coastlands, islands, saline desertplains, forests, hills, lakes, grasslands-combined with a location on the migratory route of birds from Europe and west Asia, has made Gujarat one of the most prolific birdwatching areas in all of Asia. In addition to this, Gujarat is home to rare and magnificent wildlife like the Asiatic lion of Gir and the Indian wild ass of Kutch, that do not survive elsewhere in the world, the Dugong sea cow that has one of it’s few breeding areas in the Gulf of Kutch, the endangered gray wolf that is proliferating in the grasslands of Bhal and Banni, some of the greatest herds of blackbuck antelope at Velavadar, one of the largest gazelle populations at Narayan Sarovar, the nesting areas of rapidly declining birds like the Great Indian bustard and Lesser Florican, one of the world’s largest roosts of harrier-hawk at Velavadar, India’s only Flamingo city in the Kutch desert sanctuary, bears in the Jessore and Ratanmahal hills, and some of India’s finest coral formations in the Gulf of Kutch. The enterprise of the forest department has resulted in Gujarat possessing India’s first Marine national park, India’s only nature education sanctuary and 4 bird sanctuaries. The non-violent and religious people of Gujarat have contributed to the protection of wildlife-the Aiyars of Saurashtra and the Patels of north Gujarat have created sanctuaries for blackbuck, the Jain trust of Botad feeds antelopes in summer, the priests of Datatray temple at Kala Dungar in Kutch feed jackals!