About Keoladeo National Park:
- It is situated in the Bharatpur district of Rajasthan.
- It was earlier known as Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary.
- It is recognised as one of the world’s most important bird breeding and feeding grounds.
- It was declared a national park in 1981. It was renamed Keoladeo for the ancient temple in the park dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.
- It is the only one of its kind in India which is enclosed by a boundary wall to fend off encroachments.
- It is a Ramsar site and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Vegetation:
- Woodlands, swamps, and wet grasslands cover a large part of the park.
- 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:
- It is home to a range of mammals and reptiles—including pythons and other snakes, deer, sambars, blackbucks, jackals, monitor lizards, and fishing cats.
- It is strategically located in the middle of the Central Asian migratory flyway.
- 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.
