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Site description (2004 baseline):

The Baghdarrah Nature Park is situated 15 km east of Udaipur on the Udaipur-Jhamar Kotra Road, amidst the ancient Aravalli Hills. As the name indicates, the area used to have Tigers Panthera tigris. Records reveal that the forest included in the Protected Area used to be the shikargah of the erstwhile rulers of Mewar. Baghdarrah Lake, a waterbody spreading over 30 ha, provides an ideal habitat for aquatic flora and fauna. A number of migratory waterfowl could be seen in the lake during winter. The site provides an excellent natural home for crocodiles Crocodylus palustris, which were seen freely floating on the pond water. The surrounding vegetation of this closed area represents the dry deciduous forest type. The tall trees of the forest patch provide nesting for the vultures. The important tree species of the forest includes Sterculia urens, Butea monosperma, Terminalia spp., Ficus spp., Acacia spp., Cassia fistula and Boswellia serrata. Major aquatic flora include Polygonum glabrum, Typha angustata and Trapa natans.

AVIFAUNA: More than 130 bird species are reported from this IBA site (Sharma 2002). The site qualifies as biome 11 (Indo-Malayan Tropical Dry Zone). Sarus Crane has been observed frequently, possibly coming from other lakes of Udaipur (Satish K. Sharma pers. comm. 2003).

OTHER KEY FAUNA: Other important fauna includes Leopard Panthera pardus, Jungle Cat Felis chaus, Golden Jackal Canis aureus, Indian Fox Vulpes bengalensis, Porcupine Hystrix indica, Black-naped Hare Lepus nigricollis, Common Mongoose Herpestes edwardsi, Marsh Crocodile Crocodylus palustris, Brahminy Skink Mabuya carinata, Monitor Lizard Varanus bengalensis, John’s Earth Boa Eryx johnii, Rat Snake Ptyas mucosus, Cobra Naja naja and Russell’s Viper Daboia russelii.

MAIN THREATS: Livestock grazing; Poaching; Pollution due to phosphate factories.

Besides their main role of supplying water to the citizens, the lakes of Udaipur are important for a large number of waterfowl. However, due to scanty rainfall in recent years, especially 1998 onwards, these lakes are facing water shortage. At the same time, disturbance to bird life is increasing due to human activities (recreational boating, pumping of water, pollution by sewage and garbage). As a result, many birds leave these city lakes and turn to Baghdarrah, where increasingly large numbers of water birds (around 8,000) can be seen now. Baghdarrah is a away from the city environs, and the water is also not used for domestic purposes, so the lake provides a fine habitat for winter birds. Recognizing this, the Wildlife Division of Forest Department had taken steps in 2002 to safeguard the site for birds and for the Crocodile. However, all these efforts face difficulty due to the pollution load from the developing phosphate factories in the surrounding environs. These factories release acidic emissions from their stakes, which mix in the air, and affect the air quality. Besides, the water released from the factories is deteriorating the underground water table. If measures are not taken to solve this problem, the future of this IBA site will be in jeopardy.

Key contributors: Raza H. Tehsin, Satish K. Sharma, Satya P. Mehra, Sarita Sharma.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Bagdarrah Closed Area (India). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/bagdarrah-closed-area-iba-india on 22/11/2024.