Pakistan - part 6

Like most of lowland Pakistan, Sindh Province is hot, dusty, terribly overpopulated, and completely covered with agricultural lands, villages, and cities. The last remaining place where some wildlife still survives is Khirthar National Park along the Balochistan border.

Blackbucks (Gazella bennettii), Khirthar National Park.

Khirthar National Park.

If you don't mind long hikes in the desert and climbs into steep canyons, there's a lot of fauna to see in Khirthar, mostly at night or in the morning.

Macqueen's bustard (Otis macqueenii), Khirthar.

Blackbucks (Antilope cervicapra), Khirthar National Park.

Shikra (Accipiter badius), Khirthar.

If you are lucky, you can see urial sheep, bezoar ibex (Capra aegargus), two species of antelopes, leopards, golden jackals (Canis aureus), porcupines (Hystrix indica), and numerous other creatures. But to look for rodents, Hazarganji-Chintal is better: there you can find rare mouselike hamsters (Callomyscus), jerboas and gerbils.

Shikra (Accipiter badius), Khirthar.

		Wildlife of Khirthar, upper row, left to right: grey-backed shrike (Lanius tephronotus, two photos), rose-ringed parakeet (Psittacula krameri), little green bee-eater (Merops orientalis, two photos); left -Pipistrellus tenui and P. savii bats roosting in a switchbox, right - palm squirrel (Funambulus pennanti).

Hemidactylus gecko in a hotel room, Lahore.

Pakistan's agricultural landscapes have some interesting inhabitants, too: birds, reptiles, insects. Even hotel rooms in big cities will have plenty of non-paying residents. Enjoy!

Hemidactylus gecko in a hotel room, Lahore.

Indus River Dolphin (Platanista minor), River Dolphin Reserve.

Back to Part 5

Home