Keoladeo-Nationalpark
Keoladeo (Hindi: केवलादेव, Kevlādev ) is a national park in the Indian state of Rajasthan, also Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary or Keoladeo Ghana Bird Sanctuary called. Size: 29 km ². Location: 55 km west of Agra at Bharatpur.
Keoladeo was originally the private hunting grounds of the Maharajas of ducks Bharatpur. In the swamp hibernate many water birds from Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, China and Siberia. About 364 species of birds including the rare crane nuns were observed.
History
The ecosystem of the park has been created by man:
The city of Bharatpur has been regularly flooded during the monsoon season, to 1760 the Ajan Dam was built. The removal of the soil used for the dam construction a trough filled with water and became the Keoladeo lake was created.
Around the turn of the century the Keoladeo lake was converted into a hunting ground. The shallow lake was divided by dams. By means of sluices, the water level could be set at the desired level. Shooting ranges, hiding places and paths were created. Keoladeo was one of the best duck hunting areas in the world.
The hunt was set mid-1960s. In 1981, the area was declared a National Park.
The park belongs since 1985 to the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In the park hibernate cranes, pelicans, geese, ducks, eagles, hawks, sandpipers, beach runners, wagtails, warblers, Wheatears, Flycatchers, Buntings, Larks and Water Pipit.
A special guest is the Siberian Crane, which has only three wintering areas worldwide. At the turn of the 19th to the 20th century nuns wintering cranes still in progress at several points pool. With the increasing spread of agriculture, the nuns cranes attracted more and more in this marsh 60 km upriver from the Taj Mahal back. 1964 wintered in India near Bharatpur still 200 copies. Almost 10 years later there were only 76 in 2002, the last time was observed Siberian Crane in the park. Meanwhile, this stock is probably extinct.
Birds that breed over the summer in the park: lapwing, partridge, quail, peafowl, junglefowl, pigeons, kingfishers, Mainas, woodpeckers, orioles, herons, cormorants, Anhinga, storks, ibis, spoonbill.
Visit the park
The best season to visit is during the winter, ie November to February, when the overwintering migratory birds in the park are.
Documentary
- Bharatpur - bird paradise of the Maharajas (1996 ) Director: Jens -Uwe Heins and Holger Schulz