Keoladeo National Park

Keoladeo Ghana National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Location	Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India
Nearest city	Bharatpur, Rajasthan
Coordinates	27°10′00″N 77°31′00″E / 27.166667°N 77.516667°E / 27.166667; 77.516667
Area	2,873 hectares (7,100 acres; 11.1 sq mi; 28.7 km2)
Established	10 March 1982 (1982-03-10)
Visitors	147,000 (in 2017)[1]
Governing body	Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Keoladeo National Park
Criteria	Natural: (x)
Reference	340
Inscription	1985 (9th Session)
Ramsar Wetland
Designated	1 October 1981
Reference no.	230[2]

Keoladeo National Park, or Keoladeo Ghana National Park, is a national park in Rajasthan, India. The national park hosts thousands of native, resident and migratory birds, especially during the winter season, when many different species fly to the Indian subcontinent to escape winter's wrath further north in Eurasia. At least 400 avian species have been noted or observed in the national park.

Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, as the Park was formerly named, was declared a protected sanctuary in 1971 and established as a national park on 10 March 1982. Due to its exceptional avian biodiversity, it has also been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1985).^[3]

Keoladeo Ghana National Park also features a human-made regulated wetland, providing a needed source of hydration for animals in this drier region of the subcontinent. The reserve also protects Bharatpur settlements from flash floods and provides ample pastures for the locals' cattle and livestock. In the past, the region was primarily used as a waterfowl hunting ground. The 29 km² (11 sq mi) reserve is locally known as Ghana, a natural mosaic of dry grasslands, woodlands, swamps and seasonal wetlands located just on the eastern edge of terrain that eventually becomes arid desert.

Given its rather centralised location, where the "desert-meets-the-tropics", Keoladeo Ghana is bursting with biodiversity. Beyond the hundreds of bird species, at least 20 fish, 70 reptile and amphibian, and 50 mammalian species inhabit the area, and over 60 unique species of Lepidopterans have been seen here, in addition to the more than 1,000 invertebrate species. Nearly 400 plant species have been documented in the park.^[4]