Guindy National Park India

Guindy National Park India, Chennai

What makes Guindy National Park India, Chennai so special among the other National Parks and wildlife sanctuaries in the country is that it is the smallest national park in India. Located within the city limits of Chennai, it is one of the most popular wildlife tourism destinations in the state of Tamil Nadu and is visited by over three hundred thousand tourists in a year. Guindy National Park India, Chennai spreads over an area of 2.82 sq. km and was originally owned by a British citizen named Gilbert Rodericks. After the demise of Gilbert in 1821, his property and the surrounding wooded land was bought by the Tamil Nadu government and declared as reserved forests in the year 1910.

Guindy National Park India, Chennai boasts of a rich variety of animal and plant species including 24 different varieties of trees, such as, Amona Squamosa, Atlanta Monoplylla, Feronia Limonia and Azadirachta India, to name a few. Over 14 different varieties of shrubs have also been recorded in this park. Some of the commonly sighted mammals found here are elephants, antelopes, spotted dear, jungle cats, bonnet monkey, hedgehog, common mongoose, toddy cats, Indian civet, black buck, chital, jackal and pangolin.

This park is also home to over 37 varieties of birds, including the black winged kite, the buzzard, olden Backed Woodpecker, Crow Pheasant, Yellow Wattled Lapwing, Red Wattled Lapwing, Blue Faced Malkoha, Shrikes, Koels, pariah kite, Minivets, Munias, Barkets, Parakeets, Grey Partridge, Tailor Birds, Robins, Drongos, Quails, Beak Paradise, Flycatcher, Stone Curlew and so on. A number of amphibians and reptiles add further to the varied assemblage of fauna in this park.