Keoladeo National Park

Painted stork at Keoladeo National Park

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 and 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.

This 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 Ramsar Convention in October 1981.[5]

The last big shoot was held in 1964 but the Maharajah retained shooting rights until 1972. In 1985, the Park was declared a UNESCO 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.

World Heritage Site

Eurasian spoonbill

Keoladeo Ghana National Park was made a World Heritage Site in 1985, under critera iv. The justification provided was that the park is a "...wetland of international importance for migratory waterfowl. It is the wintering ground for the rare Siberian crane and habitat for large numbers of resident nesting birds". When the criteria were updated in 2005, the park fell under Criteria (x) which states that to be conferred the status of World Heritage, the site should "contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-site conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation".[3]

Keoladeo National Park is 2 km (1.2 mi) south-east of Bharatpur and 55 km (34 mi) west of Agra. It is spread over approx 29 km² (11 sq mi). One third of the Keoladeo National Park is wetland with mounds, dykes, and open water with or without submerged or emergent plants. The uplands have grasslands with tall grass species together with scattered trees and shrubs present in varying density.[5] A similar habitat with short grasses, such as Cynodon dactylon and Dichanthium annulatum also exists. Woodlands with thickets of huge Kadam trees (Neolamarckia cadamba) are distributed in scattered pockets. The park’s flora consists of 379 species of flowering plants of which 96 are wetland species. The wetland is a part of the Indo-Gangetic Great Plains.[5]

Water remains only in some depressions. This alternate wetting and drying helps to maintain the ecology of the freshwater swamp, ideal for water-fowl and resident water birds. Arrangement to pump water from deep tube wells to fill small depressions to save seeds, spores and other aquatic life also exist. They are also helpful in extreme years of drought.[6]

Group of painted storks in one of the wetland habitation in Keoladeo National Park, located in Bharatpur district of Rajasthan, India

During 1988, mean maximum temperature ranged from 20.9 °C (69.6 °F) in January to 47.8 °C (118.0 °F) in May, while the mean temperature varied from 6.8 °C (44.2 °F) in December to 26.5 °C (79.7 °F) in June. The diurnal temperature variation ranged from 5 °C (41 °F) in January to 50 °C (122 °F) in May. Mean relatively humidity varied from 62% in March to 83.3% in December. The mean annual precipitation is 662 mm (26.1 in), with rain falling on an average of 36 days per year. In 1988, only 395 mm (15.6 in) of rain fell during 32 days. [7]

Darter at sunset

Saurus crane

Oriental magpie-robin in Keoladeo National Park

The park's location in the Gangetic Plain makes it an unrivalled breeding site for:

• herons,
• storks and
• cormorants,

and an important wintering ground for large numbers of migrant

• ducks.

The most common waterfowl are:

• gadwall,
• shoveler,
• common teal,
• cotton teal,
• tufted duck,
• knob-billed duck,
• Bar-headed goose,
• little cormorant,
• great cormorant,
• Indian shag,
• ruff,
• painted stork,
• white spoonbill,
• Asian open-billed stork,
• oriental ibis,
• darter,
• common sandpiper,
• wood sandpiper,
• green sandpiper,
• greater flamingos,
• spot-billed pelican,
• great white pelican,
• demoiselle cranes, and
• the sarus cranes, with its spectacular courtship dance, also lives here.[9]

A group of Bar-headed goose and Demoiselle cranes flying together in the park.

Keoladeo National Park is known as a "bird paradise", since more than 370 bird species have been recorded in the park. Ornithologically, the park assumes significance in two respects: One because of its strategic location as a staging ground for migratory waterfowl arriving in the Indian subcontinent before dispersing to various regions. Further waterfowl converge here before departing to breeding grounds in the western Palearctic region. In addition, the wetland is a wintering area for massive congregations of waterfowl. It is also the only regular wintering area in India for the:

• Siberian crane.

Birds present include:

• warblers,
• babblers,
• bee-eaters,
• bulbuls,
• buntings,
• chats,
• painted francolins and
• quails,
• Indian grey hornbill and
• Marshall's iora.
• Raptors include:
• osprey,
• peregrine falcon,
• Pallas' sea eagle,
• short-toed eagle,
• tawny eagle,
• imperial eagle,
• spotted eagle and
• crested serpent eagle.
• The greater spotted eagle has recently been recorded breeding here, a new breeding record for the species in India.[9]

Sambar deer in Keoladeo Ghana National Park

A nilgai inside Keoladeo National Park

Mammalian fauna of Keoladeo National Park is equally rich with 27 identified species.

• Primates include:
  • rhesus macaque and
  • Hanuman langur.[9]
• nilgai,
• feral cattle and
• chital deer are common while
• sambar are few.

Other:

• ungulates present include:
  • blackbuck,
  • Indian hog deer and
  • Wild boar.
• Indian porcupine

are often spotted sneaking out of the park into crop fields. Two:

• mongoose species,
  • the small Indian mongoose and
  • the common Indian gray mongoose,

are occasionally sighted.

• Cat species present include:
  • jungle cat,
  • leopard cat and
  • fishing cat.
• The Asian palm civet and
• the small Indian civet

are also present, but rarely sighted. Large predators are absent, but:

• small carnivores include:
  • Bengal fox,
  • golden jackals and
  • striped hyena.
• The smooth-coated otter

can be seen attacking birds such as:

• coots.

Many species of:

• rats,
• mice,
• gerbils and
• bats

are also found in the park.[4]

The management objective is to allow the area to flood and dry out annually, rather than be maintained as a system of permanent marshes. Water for the wetlands is supplied from the dam outside the park boundaries. Usually, some 14.17 million cubic meters of water is the estimated annual requirement of the park. The water level inside the park is regulated by means of dykes and artificial embankments. The alternative arrangement of water in case of emergencies such as danger of marshes and water bodies drying out completely is ensured through four boreholes so that survival of the aquatic flora and fauna is not endangered before the arrival of monsoon. The boundaries of the park are clearly delineated by a thirty-two Kilometer long boundary encircling the park restricting the encroachment of humans and domestic cattle inside the perimeters of the park. The road from Bharatpur town which used to intersect the park was also closed and relocated outside the boundary to reduce the disturbance by visitors from the town which helped in bringing down the levels of pollution inside the park considerably. As opposed to most of the national parks in India and elsewhere, Bharatpur Bird sanctuary has no buffer zone. Due to the heavy density of population and more than 15 villages settled on the periphery of park, it was impossible for authorities to create a buffer zone around the bird sanctuary. Grazing and collection of firewood and grass was phased out from the park as far back as 1983.

By virtue of being one of the best bird watching sites of Asia, more than 100,000 visitors come to the park every year. The range of visitors varies from very serious birdwatchers to school children. Of the visitors, 45,000 are foreign tourists. In addition, the location of the park is such that tourists visiting Agra, Fatehpur Sikri and Jaipur invariably stop over at Bharatpur. The park opens from sunrise to sunset around the year. Food and accommodation facilities are available within the precincts of the park. The only accommodation inside the Keoladeo National Park is available in the property of government Bharatpur Ashoka Forest Lodge and lesser expensive Shanti Kutir, which is maintained and run by the ITDC. Bharatpur Forest Lodge is a quaint hotel in the vicinity of natural treasure trove of the park and has a total of 16 rooms to offer to visitors. Its circuit house and dak bungalow also offer good accommodation options. Visitors coming to Bharatpur can also stay in palaces, havelis and other heritage properties converted into hotels. It is always advisable to have one’s accommodation pre-booked, especially so during winters. An array of 3 star hotels and resorts are also located in the vicinity of the park where visitors can stay cozily.[12] Besides the normal tourism activities and self-arranged bird watching tours of the Keoladeo National Park, visitors can also opt for a tour of this birding destination by selecting from an array of luxury tourist train services. Luxury trains like Palace on Wheels include Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary in its tour itinerary.[13]

The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) has done considerable work in the area, including the ringing of birds for the last 40 years. The society has recently intensified its operations and has established a hydro-biological station to monitor the ecology of the wetland. Particular attention will be given to any in dramatic change in the vegetation following the ban on grazing. Limnological studies have been carried out by the Zoology Department of the University of Rajasthan, Jaipur. The park authorities are monitoring the bird populations. A documentary film 'Indian birds of the monsoon' was produced by S. and B. Breeden in 1979–1980. The park has considerable potential for education, more so than other wetland sites in India, in view of it being relatively near to the cities of Agra, Delhi and Jaipur.

Between December 1992 and January 1995, a collaborative project between the Governments of India and Russia, International Crane Foundation and Wild Bird Society of Japan was set up to save the Siberian crane. The project focused on releasing captivity bred cranes into the wild, tracking migratory routes of common cranes, and building up the resident crane population in the park. Although the project did not yield the desired results, the successful survival of introduced cranes in the park has given sufficient hope to develop a viable resident population in the future.[11]

A severe drought caused severe harm to the park and its flora and fauna in 2007.[14]

A proposal for water supply to Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur was forwarded by the Government of Rajasthan seeking assistance from Planning Commission as advised and approved by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) vide their letter dated 10.04.2008. As per the MoEF, the proposal is beyond the purview of the existing centrally sponsored scheme of the MoEF, seems to be viable and has the potential to put an end to the eternal water scarcity in Bharatpur National Park.

The Keoladeo National Park is a Ramsar Wetland Site and a World Heritage Site. Due to acute water scarcity, the ecosystem of the Park has been affected badly and this has resulted in reduction in the arrival of migratory birds in the National Park. Water supply is essential for the National Park, which is a wetland and a Ramsar site facing acute shortage of water for the last few years. Currently, apart from rainfall the Park receives water from "Ajan Bund", a temporary reservoir via the Dakan canal. Through a small canal dug last year water from Khokhar Weir (Bees Mora) is also available. The total requirement of water for the Park is estimated at 14.17 million cubic meters (500 MCft). The supply from Ajan Bund is irregular and subject to the bund being full to the extent of reservoir level at 8.5 meters. During the last several years either water is not supplied or supplied insufficiently.[4]

The project had been prepared to keep in view the need for 400 MCFT of water during late July to August, for a period of 30 days to the Park which is to be had by diverting and lifting flood waters of Yamuna. The project thus covered diversion of water during monsoon through underground pipes with lifting arrangements over a length of 16 km from the off-take point of Goverdhan drain near Santruk village. The estimated cost of the project as proposed by the State Government was to the tune of Rs. 650 million. The project proposed was to channelize water from Govardhan drain to meet the water deficit of KNP during the months of July to September at the time of requirement. The major components of the project were construction of a head regulator with control gate at the drain located in the state, raw water reservoir with capacity of 13,000 m, 3 pump houses, DG sets for pumping station and laying and testing of /PCC/MS pipelines.[4]

• Arid Forest Research Institute (AFRI)
• Kanwar Taal Bird Sanctuary
• Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Keoladeo National Park.

• WCMC at the Library of Congress Web Archives (archived 2002-10-09)