Rains give fresh lease on wildlife to Asia’s famous Zangi Nawar lake 

News Desk

QUETTA: Besides causing heavy loss of human lives and infrastructure destructions, the recent monsoon rains contribute to ecological health of Asia’s famous Lake Zangi Nawar.

According to media reports, Zangi Nawar is full of water after 26 years and it could be possible due to heavy rains in Nushki and surrounding regions. Earlier this lake was filled in 1996. Due to prolonged drought in the region, Zangi Nawar Lake dried up.

The Lake is a famous hunting ground in Asia. The beauty of the natural lake, in the middle of the desert, is remarkable.

The Zangi Nawar Lake is situated in the southwest of Quetta, Balochistan. It is a unique wetland ecosystem, supporting a great diversity of fauna and flora in an otherwise inhospitable desert landscape.

It is a very important breeding area for the endangered Marbled Teal and several other waterfowl, and when water levels are high, can hold as many as 90,000 ducks and coots in mid-winter.

A shallow, brackish, eutrophic lake and associated marshes surrounded by high, windblown sand dunes, in a desolate region of stony plains and barren rocky hills. Asia’s famous lake said to be an estimated 1,060 hectares was declared a Game Reserve in 1982 and has since been upgraded to a Wildlife Sanctuary.

During periods of droughts, the wetland may dry out completely. This lake is also listed in the Ramsar list of important wetlands.

Different kinds of birds and reptiles are found in and around this lake. Birds from many parts of the northern countries migrate to the area in particular season and it is possible to make them stay in the area more if they are not hunted crucially and illegally. The Zangi Nawar lake hosts hundreds of thousands of migratory birds.