IUCN category II (national park)
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Guindy National Park entrance
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Location in Chennai, India | |
Location | Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
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Nearest city | Chennai |
Coordinates | 13°00′09″N 80°13′51″E / 13.00259°N 80.23079°ECoordinates: 13°00′09″N 80°13′51″E / 13.00259°N 80.23079°E |
Area | 2.7057 km2 (1.0447 sq mi) |
Established | 1977 |
Visitors | 700,000 (in 2006) |
Governing body | Tamil Nadu Forest Department |
forests |
Guindy National Park is a 2.70 km2 (1.04 sq mi) Protected area of Tamil Nadu, located in Chennai, South India, is the 8th smallest National Park of India and one of the very few national parks situated inside a city. The park is an extension of the grounds surrounding Raj Bhavan, formerly known as the 'Guindy Lodge', the official residence of the Governor of Tamil Nadu, India. It extends deep inside the governor's estate, enclosing beautiful forests, scrub lands, lakes and streams.
The park has a role in both ex-situ and in-situ conservation and is home to 400 blackbucks, 2,000 spotted deers, 24 jackals, a wide variety of snakes, geckos, tortoises and over 130 species of birds, 14 species of mammals, over 60 species of butterflies and spiders each, a wealth of different invertebrates—grasshoppers, ants, termites, crabs, snails, slugs, scorpions, mites, earthworms, millipedes, and the like. These are free-ranging fauna and live with the minimal of interference from human beings. The only major management activity is protection as in any other in-situ conservation area. The park attracts more than 700,000 visitors every year.