Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar Bird Sanctuary
The newly created Dr.Bhimrao Ambedkar Bird Sanctuary, Uttar Pradesh is
located in Kunda town of Pratapgarh district. To the south of Kunda,
adjacent to River Ganga, it is at a distance of 13 kms from the main
town. The Gangetic area is a representation of the aquatic vegetation
and animal life and is a kind of a gene bank which, down the ages has
assimilated numerous possibilities and generations of variations as in
the human race.
The area was declared a reserved area by the Uttar Pradesh government,
as per the provisions of the Wild Life Act of 1972.The Act provides for
the conservation of wild animals, safeguarding their habitat and
promoting their development. All inputs for the above like sufficient
number and ratio of animal life to the natural vegetation ,geographical
features and consideration of natural elements present in the area for
optimum growth and development of the fauna and flora were present and
thus the surrounding rural , land area of Beti Talaab,Purnemau Taalab,
Banemau Taalab, and Shahpur Taalab ,including the barren and sodic lands
were assimilated ,totaling to around 427.07 hectares and Dr.Bhimrao
Ambedkar Bird Sanctuary, District Pratapgarh was formed.
Description of the Protected Zone
Dr.Bhimrao Ambedkar Bird Sanctuary is surrounded by the agricultural land area of
the villages of Benti Uparhar, Shahpur and Lowa Sukhdevpur,
Puranmau.This region is a part of the alluvial land mass of the Gangetic
plains. Here the weather is in extremes……with very cold winters and
equally hot summers. The maximum temperatures reach around 48* C in
summers and the minimum touches 0*C in winters. Average rainfall is
1200mm..
Wild Life and Vegetation
Abundant number of mammals, birds, reptiles, fishes, amphibians and
invertebrates are found in the region. Similarly, different varieties of
aquatic and soil based vegetation is also found in the Bird Sanctuary
area which not only provides food to the birds and animals but are also
rich in medicinal values. Every year hundreds of local and migratory
birds from India and abroad flock here with the onset of the winter
season and inhabit this region till the beginning of the spring season.
Migratory birds travel up to 5000kms to reach this sanctuary and some
birds migrate from a height of 8000mtrs to the comparative warmth of the
region.
Foreign Migratory Birds
Rosy Pelican , Grayling Goose , Pintail, Common Teel,Gargani Teel,
Red-Crested Pochard, Common Pochard, Vision, Gadwalls, Shovler, Scope
Duck, Coot, Surkhab, Great Crested Grib, Gulls, Marsh Sandpipers, White
Stork etc. can be seen in numbers in the Dr.Bhimrao Ambedkar Bird
Sanctuary during the season.
Local /Local Migratory Birds
Saras Crane , Open –Billed Stork, Painted Stork, White Naked Stork,, Black
Naked Stork, White Ibis, Glassy Ibis, Black Ibis, Spoon Bill, Darter,
Little Cormorant , Common Kingfisher, White –Breasted Kingfisher, Pied
Kingfisher, Large and Little Egret, Purple Heron, Pond heron, Purple
Moorhen, Water Hen, Black –Winged Stilt, Pheasant-Tailed Jacana, Bronze
Winged Jacana, Spot-Billed Duck, Comb Duck, Whistling Teel, Marsh
Harrier, Shirker, Pariah White ,Gray Headed Fishing Eagle, Sparrow Hawk,
Variety of Falcons, Wild Pigeons, Spotted Muniya, Crow Pheasants and
numerous Mynahs and Peacocks
Fishes
Baam,Soopa,Rohu,Kuchia,Mangoor,Nain,Singhri,Chilwa,Sor,Singhi,Tengan,Padhan
are some of the local varieties found in the region of the sanctuary.
Snakes
Pythons, Two-Headed
Snake, Blind Snake, Water Snake, Cobra, Krait and spotted snakes can
also be sighted in the sanctuary vicinity
Mammals
Jungle Cats, Mongoose, Wolves, Foxes, Jackals, Squirrels, Mice, Rabbits and Hares and Blue Bulls are found in abundance.
Invertebrates
Variety of Fishes, aquatic and Land insects, snails, leeches etc
Aquatic Vegetation
Hydrila Big and Small, Uticuleria, Lotus, Nilofer, Jalrani and a host of other aquatic vegetation flourishes in the area