Keoladeo National Park, Location, Flora and Fauna, Latest News

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Keoladeo National Park Latest News

Known as the ‘paradise of birds’, Keoladeo National Park in Rajasthan is also emerging as a sanctuary for turtles, offering shelter to eight out of 10 species found in the state.

About Keoladeo National Park

Keoladeo National Park, popularly known as Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, is located in Bharatpur in Rajasthan.
It was founded in the late 19th century as a hunting preserve by Suraj Mal, the maharaja of the Bharatpur princely state, and became a bird sanctuary in 1956.
Declared a national park in 1981, it was renamed Keoladeofor the ancient temple in the park dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.
It has an area of 29 sq.km.
Woodlands, swamps, and wet grasslands cover a large part of the park.
It is a Ramsar site and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It is strategically located in the middle of the Central Asian migratory flyway.
It is home to more than 360 species of permanent and migratory birds.
During the annual period of migratory visitors (about October to March), birds from throughout the world can be found in the park.
Among those wintering in the park are waterfowl from Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, China, and Siberia, including species such as gadwalls, shovellers, common teals, tufted ducks, pintails, white spoonbills, Asian open-billed storks, Oriental ibises, and the rare Siberian crane.
Vegetation: The vegetation here is of a dry deciduous type, with medium-sized trees and shrubs found inside its forest.
Flora: Some of the trees which can be commonly spotted inside the park are kadam, jamun, babul, kandi, ber, kair, and piloo.
Fauna: The park is also home to a range of mammals and reptiles—including pythons and other snakes, deer, sambars, blackbucks, jackals, monitor lizards, and fishing cat.