Keoladeo National Park - The Home of Rare Siberian Cranes :

Formerly known as the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, the Keoladeo National Park lies between two of India's most historic cities, Agra and Jaipur. This north Indian park is situated in the country's northwestern part of Rajasthan.  It was declared a national park in 1982 and then later tagged as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985. The park is home to over 370 species of birds and animals such as the basking python, painted storks, deer, nilgai and more. It is mainly known for migrated Siberian cranes.

Siberian Crane: 

The Siberian crane (Grus leucogeranus) or Siberian white crane or snow crane, is a critically endangered species of crane.

They occur in three groups: the eastern group, which migrates from eastern Siberia to China, the central group, which migrates from western Siberia to India, and the western group, which migrate from western Russia to Iran. The height of an Adult Siberian crane is around 5 feet and weighted 6 kgs.

Biodiversity at the Keoladeo National Park: 

Thousands of migratory waterfowl visit the park for wintering, breeding etc every year. Keoladeo Ghana National Park is a man-made and man-managed wetland and one of the national parks of India. The reserve protects Bharatpur from frequent floods, provides grazing grounds for village cattle, and earlier was primarily used as a waterfowl hunting ground. The 29 km2 (11 sq mi) reserve is locally known as Ghana, and is a mosaic of dry grasslands, woodlands, woodland swamps and wetlands. These diverse habitats are home to 366 bird species, 379 floral species, 50 species of fish, 13 species of snakes, 5 species of lizards, 7 amphibian species, 7 turtle species and a variety of other invertebrates. Every year thousands of migratory waterfowl visit the park for wintering and breeding. The sanctuary is one of the richest bird areas in the world and is known for nesting of resident birds and visiting migratory birds including water birds. The rare Siberian cranes used to winter in this park but this central population is now extinct. According to founder of the World Wildlife Fund Peter Scott, Keoladeo National Park is one of the world’s best bird areas.

History :

The sanctuary was created 250 years ago and is named after a Keoladeo (Shiva) temple within its boundaries. Initially, it was a natural depression; and was flooded after the Ajan Bund was constructed by Maharaja Suraj Mal, then the ruler of the princely state of Bharatpur, between 1726–1763. The bund was created at the confluence of two rivers, the Gambhir and Banganga. The park was a hunting ground for the Maharajas of Bharatpur, a tradition dating back to 1850, and duck shoots were organised yearly in honour of the British viceroys. In one shoot alone in 1938, over 4,273 birds such as mallards and teals were killed by Lord Linlithgow, then Viceroy of India.

The park was established as a national park on 10 March 1982. Previously the private duck shooting preserve of the Maharaja of Bharatpur since the 1850s, the area was designated as a bird sanctuary on 13 March 1976 and a Ramsar site under the Wetland Convention in October 1981. The last big shoot was held in 1964 but the Maharajah retained shooting rights until 1972. In 1985, the Park was declared a World Heritage Site under the World Heritage Convention. It is a reserve forest under the Rajasthan Forest Act, 1953 and therefore, is the property of the State of Rajasthan of the Indian Union. In 1982, grazing was banned in the park, leading to violent clashes between local farmers and the government.

Facts about Keoladeo National Park:

1. This north Indian sanctuary is situated in the country's northwestern part of Rajasthan.

2. It was declared a national park in 1982 and then later tagged as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985.

3. The park is home to over 370 species of birds and animals such as the basking python, painted storks, deer, nilgai and more.

4. The Park is located in over near about 30 km2 area.

5. The location of Keoladeo (Bharatpur) National Park is (27°10'N, 77°31'E) in eastern Rajasthan.

6. It emerged as a royal hunting reserve during the 1850s and was a game reserve for Maharajas and the British. In fact, Lord Linlithgow (Viceroy of India from 1936 to 1943), shot over thousands of ducks with his hunting party in a day.

7. Noted Indian ornithologist and naturalist Salim Ali used his influence to get government support to create Keoladeo National Park.

8. The park is very much famous for the presence of migrated Siberian cranes.

9. Locally this reserve is known as Ghana, and is a mosaic of dry grasslands, woodlands, woodland swamps, and wetlands.

10. These diverse habitats are home to 366 bird species, 379 floral species, 50 species of fish, 13 species of snakes, 5 species of lizards, 7 amphibian species,7 turtle species, and a variety of other invertebrates.

11. This park organised duck shoots festival yearly in honor of the British viceroys.

12. It is a reserve forest under the Rajasthan Forest Act, 1953 and therefore, is the property of the State of Rajasthan of the Indian Union.

13. Migratory birds at Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary include several species of Cranes, Pelicans, Geese, Ducks, Eagles, Hawks, Shanks, Stints, Wagtails, Warblers, Wheatears, Flycatchers, Buntings, Larks and Pipits, etc.

14. The forest in Bahratpur is semi-arid biotype with significant vegetation and that is why the sanctuary is termed as 'Ghana'-thicket. Basically it is a dry deciduous forest type.