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Tal Chappar Wildlife Sanctuary
The Tal Chappar Wildlife Sanctuary lies in the Sujangarh Tehsil of Churu District, in the North-East part of
Rajasthan. It is situated at a distance of 85 KM from Churu , about 132 Km from
Bikaner. and 220 km from Jaipur and lies on Nokha- Sujangarh state Highway. The nearest Railway station is Chapper which lies on Degana – Churu –
Rewari metre gauge line of Northen Western Railways.
Tal Chhapar Sanctuary in Churu district is famous for black-bucks.
Talchhapar wildlife sanctuary is a unique sanctuary having a good population of
Black buck in a small area of 719 ha. The sanctuary houses nearly 1680 Black
Bucks in a small area. This is a natural home of Blackbucks and one can easily
encounter 500-700 animals in a single herd. It is the only sanctuary in India in
which houses a good population of blackbucks in an almost tree-less, saline and flat-land.
The black bucks
The Black bucks is the sole representative in India of the Genus Antelope. Its
striking colour and its beautiful spiralled horns which may reach the shoulder
height o f the animal, gave it an elegance hardly equalled by any antelope. This
exclusively Indian animals is the most beautiful of all its kinds. The upper
part of mature male Blackbuck has black fur on rump and white fur on the chest
belly, chin and inner side of there legs. They have white rings around their
eyes and have long ringed spiral horns with three to four turns which reaches
upto 28 inches. The males are born light brown and turn black after three years
after attaining sexual maturity. Female Blackbuck are smaller light brown, do
not have horns. Black Bucks are usually seen in herds of 25-30, but in summer months large herds can also been seen.
Tal
Chappar is situated in North-Western Rajasthan and thus lies on the way of the migratory passage of many birds. The most spectacular migration seen from here is that of harries.
These birds pass through this area during the month of September. Montagur’s and marsh harrier are more common, while pale harrier and ben
harrier are found in lesser numbers. Besides these imperial eagle, tawny eagle, short toed eagle, sparrow hawk are
common here. The other birds commonly seen here are skylark, crested lark, ring drove, brown dove, blue jay,
green bee eaters, black ibis and demoiselle cranes which stay there till March.
In a very small area of Tal Chapper Sanctuary the animals frequently encountered
are the desert fox, Jungle Cat, Black Naped Hare, Neelgai, Jackal, Chinkara etc. with Black Buck being the main
herbivore.
Kurja (Demoiselle Cranes)
The queen of Rajasthan Folk geets
Kurja (demoiselle crane)
the migratory bird from far off countries as Siberia, Magnolia, Tajikistan,
central Asia, etc starts to migrate in the month of September.
The Demoiselle is 85-100 cm long with a 155-180 cm wingspan. It is therefore
slightly smaller than the Common Crane, with similar plumage. However it has a
long white neck stripe and the black on the fore neck extends down over the chest
in a plume. It has a loud trumpeting call, higher-pitched than the Common Crane. Like other cranes
it has a dancing display, more balletic than the Common Crane, with less leaping. |
The black bucks
Kurja (Demoiselle Crane)
Kurja migrates from far off Siberia, Tajikistan,
Magnolia, Central Asia to Tal Chapper in the month September.
Eurasian larks |
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Demoiselle cranes have to take one of the toughest migrations in the world. In
late August through September, they gather in flocks of up to 400 individuals
and prepare for their flight to their winter range. During their migratory flight south, demoiselles fly like all cranes, with their head and neck straight
forward and their feet and legs straight behind, reaching altitudes of
16,000-26,000 feet (4,875- 7,925 m). Along their arduous journey they have to
cross the Himalayan mountains to get to their over wintering grounds in India,
many die from fatigue, hunger and predation from birds such as eagles.
They stay at
Tal Chapper up to the month of March. Every year their numbers
varies between 1500-2000. In the year 2001 their number reached up to
5000.
Eurasian
larks
Flocks of Eurasian larks from Central Asia and Europe have started coming
to the Black Deer Wildlife Bird sanctuary in Tal Chhapar, in March
this year, on their seasonal visit. The avians which have been
resorting in the sanctuary for the last one month, have become major
attraction for the passerby, wildlife experts said. The avian guests
are likely to stay for breeding purpose till April end.
The Great Indian Bustard
The Great Indian Bustard has been sighted on Augustb9,
2009 for the first time at the Tal Chhapar wildlife sanctuary in Churu district of
Rajasthan. The Great Indian Bustard’s natural habitats are large expanses of arid and semi-arid grassland and low-thorn scrub.
With increasing destruction of surroundings and environmental degradation coupled with external factors
such as poaching and demographic pressure, the number of these exceptional birds in this vast desert State has declined to less than a hundred.
The Great Indian Bustard being sighted at Tal Chhapar is a significant occurrence, for it
shows that the endangered species is in search of new habitats for its survival
Black bucks die of shock' in rain-hit Tal Chappar
On June 2, 2008 : The recent spate of unexpected downpours accompanied by thunderstorms has come as a rude
shock to the endangered black bucks of the Tal Chappar sanctuary in Churu district. According to reports about 70 black
bucks have died in the sanctuary due to the weather shock. State chief wildlife warden, R N Mehrotra said on Monday, "The
victims were mostly the old and the infants. The reason behind the deaths has been identified as a shock' due to a sudden change in
weather. Post mortem of about 50 carcasses has been conducted and a three-member team of doctors has been deputed to search for the dead
animals, he added. The Tal Chappar sanctuary, located on the
fringes of the Thar desert, is home to about 2,000 black bucks.
In May 2009 nearly black bucks died in a cylcon.
In June 7, 2010 nearly 34 bucks were died idue to a heavy rain,
Tal Chappar sanctuary would be developed as a major tourist
destination
Tal Chappar sanctuary would be developed as a major tourist destination to play a role of a catalyst for the development of the area, said chief minister, Ashok
Gehlot. He added that the government would provide all help to develop Tal Chappar as a major tourist destination. The sanctuary is home to
blackbucks. With the inflow of domestic and foreign tourists to the sanctuary, this would also open up employment
opportunities for the locals. He said development plan of the area would be made with the total involvement of the locals and officials working at grass root level. |
The Great Indian Bustard,
a male bird
On June 2, 2008 about 70 black bucks have died in the sanctuary due to the weather shock
Kurja (Demoiselle Cranes) is the main attraction for tourists. |
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