The vast tracts of desert sands around Jaisalmer. with their wood fossils, have been designated the Desert National Park. To the lay person, there may be little about the desert that calls for 'protection', leave alone support wildlife, but the desert has a fragile eco-system that has a unique variety of wildlife species. These include the somewhat ungainly great, Indian bustard which, because of these efforts, has made a comeback in recent decades. though it is still on the endangered list. Since the sandy desert has only a few grasses and shrubs. and a low scattering of indigenous trees, the leaf cover is limited. This environment supports the spiny- tail lizard that lives in underground colonies, desert monitors that look like minia- ture replicas of dragons, san- dfish that 'swini' under the sand. chameleons, and of course, snakes that include the deadly saw-scaled viper and Sind krait.

Other faunal species here include the desert hare. hedgehog, the predatory Indian wolf. desort fox. and desert gerbil However, it is with the great Indian bustard that the Desert National Park is most closely associated, especially since its conservation efforts have boriu fruit.

A bird that lives in small flocks, it has strong legs meant for walking and feeds on berries to grasshoppers. lori.ists, and even snakes. Other avifaunal specie include a variety of sandgrouse. Gray partridge, quails, peafowl and some insect eating birds such as bee-eaters, shrikes, orioles, drongos. warblers and babblers wherever khair bushes can be found. Special mention needs to be made of the houbara. The almost hunted to extinction. and which has now been allowed to breed, and of the desert courser hich, it has now been established, breeds in the Thar on its migratory journey through the desert.

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