Bharatpur National Park

Country- {India} Rajasthan

Biological Provience- 4.08.04 (Indus-Ganges Monsoon Forest)

Geographical Location- Situated in eastern Rajasthan, the park is 2km south-east of Bharatpur and 50km west of Agra. 27°07'-27°12'N, 77°29'-77°33'E

Date and History of Establishment- Established as a national park on 10 March 1982. Previously the private duck shooting preserve of the Maharaja of Bharatpur since the 1850's, the area was designated as a bird sanctuary on 13 March 1956 and a Ramsar site in October 1981. The last big shoot was held in 1964 but the Maharajah retained shooting rights until 1972. Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1985.

Area- 2,873ha

Land Tenure- Rajasthan State Government

Altitude- 174m

Physical Features- The area consists of a flat patchwork of marshes in the Gangetic plain, artificially created in the 1850s and maintained ever since by a system of canals, sluices and dykes. Normally, water is fed into the marshes twice a year from inundations of the Gambira and Banganga rivers, which are impounded on arable land by means of an artificial dam called Ajan Bund, to the south of the park. The first time, usually in mid-July, is soon after the onset of the monsoon and the second time is in late September or in October when Ajan Bund is drained ready for cultivation in winter. Thus, the area is flooded to an depth of 1-2m throughout the monsoon (July-September), after which the water level drops. From February onwards the land begins to dry out and by June only some water remains. For much of the year the area of wetland is only 1,000ha. Soils are predominantly alluvial - some clay has formed as a result of the periodic inundations.

Climate- During 1988, mean maximum temperature ranged from 20.9°C in January to 47.8°C in May, while the mean temperature varied from 6.8°C in December to 26.5°C in June. The diurnal temperature variation ranged from 5°C in January to 50°C in May. Mean relatively humidity varied from 62% in March to 83.3% in December. The mean annual precipitation is 662mm, with rain falling on an average of 36 days per year. During 1988 only 395mm of rain fell during 32 wet days (Vijayan, 1989).

Vegetation- In a semi-arid biotype, the park is the only area with much vegetation, hence the term 'Ghana' meaning 'thicket'. The principal vegetation types are tropical dry deciduous forest, intermixed with dry grassland in areas where forest has been degraded. Apart form the artificially managed marshes, much of the area is covered by medium-sized trees and shrubs. Forests, mostly in the north-east of the park, are dominated by kalam or kadam Mitragyna parvifolia, jamun Syzygium cuminii and babul Acacia nilotica. Neem Azadirachta inidca, probably introduced, is occasional. The open woodland is mostly babul with a small amount of kandi Prosopis spicigera and ber Zizyphus mauritiana. Scrublands are dominated by ber and kair Capparis decidua. Piloo Salvadora oleoides and S. persica also occur scrubland and are virtually the only woody plants found in areas of saline soil. The aquatic vegetation is rich in species and is a valuable source of food for waterfowl. Saxena (1975) lists the park's flora.

Fauna- Primates are rhesus macaque Macaca mulatta and langur Presbytis entellus. Large predators are absent, leopard Panthera pardus having been deliberately exterminated by 1964, but small carnivores include Bengal fox Vulpes bengalensis, jackal Canis aureus, striped hyena Hyaena hyaena, common palm civet Paradoxurus hermaphroditus, small Indian civet Viverricula indica, Indian grey mongoose Herpestes edwardsi, fishing cat Felis viverrina (K), leopard cat F. bengalensis, jungle cat F. chaus and smooth-coated otter Lutra perspicillata numbering about 30 individuals (Haque and Vijayan, 1988). Ungulates include blackbuck Antilope cervicapra (60)[30], chital Cervus axis (350)[230-260], sambar C. unicolor[20], hog deer C. porcinus, nilgai Boselaphus tragocamelus (480)[160-180] and wild boar Sus scrofa [200-250] and feral cattle [950-1,000]. (The figures in brackets refer to the number of animals counted in the 1980 census and those in square brackets refer to the 1988 census (Vijayan, 1989)). Other mammals include Indian porcupine Hystrix indica and Indian hare Lepus nigricollis. An estimated 65 million fish-fry are carried into the parks water impoundments by river flooding every year during the monsoon season, which provides the food base for large numbers of wading and fish-eating birds (Milne, 1997). Some 364 species of bird have been recorded in the park, which is considered to be one of the world's finest areas for birds, with an unique assemblage of species. The park was the last known wintering ground in India of the western population of Siberian crane Grus leucogeranus (V). Despite reaching a decade-high total of 41 birds during the winter of 1984-85 (ICBP, 1985) numbers have been steadily decreasing and in the winter of 1993 and 1994, none were observed (K. Rao pers. comm., 1995). In 1996, four birds wintered in the park, and in 1997 two adults and a young bird were observed (Milne, 1997). There is only one other known western population in Iran, but a thriving eastern population of some 1,350 cranes has recently been discovered wintering in Poyang Lake Nature Reserve, Jiangxi, China. 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 Anas strepera, shoveler A. clypeata, common teal A. crecca, cotton teal Nettapus coromandelianus, tufted duck Aythya fuligula, comb duck Sarkidiornis melanotos, little cormorant Phalacrocorax niger, great cormorant P. carbo, Indian shag P. fuscicollis, ruff Philomachus pugnax (probably the most abundant wader), painted stork Ibis leucocephalus, white spoonbill Platalea leucorodia, Asian open-billed stork Anastomus oscitans, oriental ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus, darter Anhinga melanogaster, common sandpiper Tringa hypoleucos, wood sandpiper T. glareolaand green sandpiper T. ochropus. Sarus crane Grus antigone, with its spectacular courtship dance, is also found here. Among land birds is a rich assortment consisting of warblers, babblers, bee-eaters, bulbuls, buntings, chats, partridges and quails. Grey hornbill Tockus birostris and Marshall's iora Aegithina nigrolutea are also present. There are many birds of prey including the osprey Pandio haliaetus, peregrine Falco peregrinus, Pallas' sea-eagle Haliaeetus leucoryphus (R), short-toed eagle Circaetus gallicus, tawny eagle Aquila rapax, imperial eagle A. heliaca (R), spotted eagle A. clanga and crested serpent eagle Spilornis cheela. Greater spotted eagle has recently been recorded breeding here, a new breeding record for the species in India (Prakash, 1988a) and lesser spotted eagle Aquila pomarina hastata nested in the park in 1986, the first nesting record for the species in India for some time (Prakash, 1988b). Several other threatened avifauna species occur, including Dalmatian pelican Pelecanus crispus (V), spot-billed pelican P. philippensis (I), greater adjutant Leptoptilus dubius (E), lesser adjutant L. javanicus (V), marbled teal Marmaronetta angustirostris (V), Baikal teal Anas formosa (V), Baer's pochard Aythya baeri (V), red kite Milvus milvus (K), cinereous vulture Aegypius monochus (V) and sociable lapwing Vanellus gregarius (R) (K. Rao pers. comm., 1995). Abdulali and Pandey (1978) and Ali and Hussain (1982) provide checklists of birds recorded in the park. Reptiles include water snakes, Indian python Python molurus (V), banded krait Bungarus fasciatus, green rat snake Zaocys nigromarginatus, turtles (Lissemys punctatus, Trionyx gangeticus, Kachuga tectum and Hardella thurgi) and monitor lizard Varanus sp. Some 50 species of fish have been identified (Kumar and Vijayan, 1988). Protozoa, zooplankton and macrobenthic oligochaeta, Insecta and Mollusca have been studied with particular reference to drought conditions (Mahajan et al., 1981a, b and c). A discussion on the aquatic macroinvertebrates, terrestrial invertebrates, fish, herpetofauna, birds and mammals is given in Vijayan (1989).

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