The park director is driving us in his jeep, a very special privilege. There is an aura of tension. We are in quest of the tiger in Keoladeo. Yes, in Keoladeo or Bharatpur as it is popularly known as. The famed wetland is a haven for migratory and other bird species. The tiger is an anomaly. This 27 sq km park cannot accommodate a large carnivore. But this young male has made it one after having walked several hundred kilometers from Ranthambore National Park. What is amazing is that it made it through fairly densely human populated areas in between the two national parks. What brought it to Bharatpur is a million dollar question, but some of the obvious answers include good and protected habitat, an abundance of prey and no competition from any other large predator.
Keoladeo Ghana or Bharatpur National Park is situated in the state of Rajasthan and gets its name from Keoladeo (Shiva). It was known as ‘Ghana’ (which literally means dense) due to the thick vegetation in the area. The park is famous for its birdlife. The VIP visitors have been the Siberian Cranes. These are snowy white cranes with black wing tips and a naked red face. They are smaller in size than the native Sarus Cranes. These birds have however stopped coming for many years due to a combination of factors. One is the lack of water and subsequently adequate food and shelter, but the other their being hunted along their migratory route.
The national park is a natural depression that is believed to be part of a riverbed, speculatively the Yamuna. This used to periodically get flooded. In the 18th century it was modified by building a series of canals to regulate the water. A dam in the form of the Ajan Bund was constructed by the then ruler, Suraj Mal and the area developed as a duck shooting reserve in 1899. Lord Curzon himself inaugurated the first duck shoot here in 1902. But the record for shooting the largest number of birds is held by Lord Linlithgow, the then Viceroy and Governor General of India. He shot 4,273 birds in one day. Hunting was banned in India in 1972 and this area was declared a national park in 1981.
The park has been facing an acute shortage of water due to a drought situation in the area, but primarily because water has not been released from the Ajan bandh. Water released from the dam is being captured by the upstream farmers and not allowed to flow to the park. As a result the wetland habitat of Keoladeo has shrunk. The tree, Prosopis juliflora dominates the area once inundated by water (a choice habitat for nesting birds).
The main source of water is a temporary reservoir, namely Ajan bandh, situated 500 m southwest of the present border of the park. Ajan bandh in the past received water from the Gambhir and Banganga river systems, at the confluence of which the National Park is located. However since the 80s the Gambhir has been the only source. Water brought into Ajan bandh is retained there for a few days for the silt to deposit and then released into the park and the surrounding villages in July - August. The time of release of water to the park is vital to the growth of aquatic plants, breeding of heronry species and the overall seasonality of ecological events. The quantum of water received is no doubt the most important factor in the survival of wetlands, and to some extent, that of the upland forests.
Many alternate water sources are now being explored. But it was nature itself that seems to have saved the park. The monsoon exceeded its normal limits this past year, there was surplus water that was released to the park from Ajan. No sooner did this happen, that the park blossomed and there were glimpses of the Keoladeo of yester years. The park authorities have done a phenomenal job of removing Prosopis. Water is back where it belonged and so are the birds. In October, I saw hundreds of painted storks nesting. These birds seemed to have rescheduled their nesting season. Dawn and dusk bring a cacophony of bird calls and is music to my ears. It was nearing a full moon and this brought with it thousand of migrants. As winter approaches, more migratory birds will arrive in full force, ensuring that the park regains its lost feathered splendour. The big question. Will the VIP visitors in the form of the Siberian Cranes ever return to the park? One hopes that the regained glory of the park will attract these special guests again.
Did we see the tiger? No. That could be attributed to the healthy undergrowth. It may have been watching us, but was invisible to our eyes. But it has given out a clear message: a healthy ecosystem will attract more animals: big and small; feathered and furred.
*This appeared in the Sunday Deccan Herald August 6, 2012. It is a piece for children.
No comments:
Post a Comment