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Keoladeo National Park
Keoladeo National Park, or Keoladeo Ghana National Park, is a national park in Rajasthan, India. The national park hosts thousands of native, resident and migratory birds, especially during the winter season, when many different species fly to the Indian subcontinent to escape harsh winters further north in Eurasia. At least 400 avian species have been noted or observed in the national park.
The area was developed into a duck shooting reserve in 1899 by the administrator of the Bharatpur State. Through the efforts of ornithologist Salim Ali, it became the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary in 1956, was declared a protected sanctuary in 1971 and established as the Keoladeo National Park on 10 March 1982. Due to its exceptional avian biodiversity, it has also been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1985).
Keoladeo Ghana National Park also features a human-made regulated wetland, providing a needed source of hydration for animals in this drier region of the subcontinent. The reserve also protects Bharatpur settlements from flash floods and provides ample pastures for the locals' cattle and livestock. In the past, the region was primarily used as a waterfowl hunting ground. The 29 km2 (11 sq mi) reserve is locally known as Ghana, a natural mosaic of dry grasslands, woodlands, swamps and seasonal wetlands located just on the eastern edge of terrain that eventually becomes arid desert.
Given its rather centralised location, where the "desert-meets-the-tropics", Keoladeo Ghana is bursting with biodiversity. Beyond the hundreds of bird species, at least 20 fish, 70 reptile and amphibian, and 50 mammalian species inhabit the area, and over 60 unique species of Lepidopterans have been seen here, in addition to the more than 1,000 invertebrate species. Nearly 400 plant species have been documented in the park.
The national park was established 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.
Keoladeo National Park was made a World Heritage Site in 1985, under criterion 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".
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. 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.
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.
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Keoladeo National Park
Keoladeo National Park, or Keoladeo Ghana National Park, is a national park in Rajasthan, India. The national park hosts thousands of native, resident and migratory birds, especially during the winter season, when many different species fly to the Indian subcontinent to escape harsh winters further north in Eurasia. At least 400 avian species have been noted or observed in the national park.
The area was developed into a duck shooting reserve in 1899 by the administrator of the Bharatpur State. Through the efforts of ornithologist Salim Ali, it became the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary in 1956, was declared a protected sanctuary in 1971 and established as the Keoladeo National Park on 10 March 1982. Due to its exceptional avian biodiversity, it has also been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1985).
Keoladeo Ghana National Park also features a human-made regulated wetland, providing a needed source of hydration for animals in this drier region of the subcontinent. The reserve also protects Bharatpur settlements from flash floods and provides ample pastures for the locals' cattle and livestock. In the past, the region was primarily used as a waterfowl hunting ground. The 29 km2 (11 sq mi) reserve is locally known as Ghana, a natural mosaic of dry grasslands, woodlands, swamps and seasonal wetlands located just on the eastern edge of terrain that eventually becomes arid desert.
Given its rather centralised location, where the "desert-meets-the-tropics", Keoladeo Ghana is bursting with biodiversity. Beyond the hundreds of bird species, at least 20 fish, 70 reptile and amphibian, and 50 mammalian species inhabit the area, and over 60 unique species of Lepidopterans have been seen here, in addition to the more than 1,000 invertebrate species. Nearly 400 plant species have been documented in the park.
The national park was established 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.
Keoladeo National Park was made a World Heritage Site in 1985, under criterion 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".
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. 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.
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.