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Site description (2004 baseline):

Lakh Bahosi Wildlife Sanctuary is about 38 km from the historic city of Kannauj. The Sanctuary is formed of two oxbow jheels near the village Bahosi. Both the jheels, Lakh and Bahosi, are located near the Lower Ganga Canal, so the overflow and seepage of water accumulates in the jheels, resulting in about 600 ha of shallow wetlands perfectly suitable for waterbirds. By winter, the waterspread is reduced by evaporation and drainage. Nonetheless, at least 400 ha in the deeper parts still retain enough water to attract at least 50,000 waterfowl (Rahmani and Arora 1992). Apart from these two jheels, there are numerous wetlands beside the canal in an area of about 8,000 ha. To protect them, the Uttar Pradesh government declared a sanctuary of 8,023 ha, including forest land, village land, agricultural fields, and revenue lands. A major part of the Sanctuary (5,300 ha) is private land. The area has been identified as an Important Bird Area due to the presence of globally threatened species such as the Greater Spotted Eagle Aquila clanga, Sarus Crane Grus antigone, and congregations of about 50,000 waterbirds.

AVIFAUNA: More than 240 species of birds are reported from the Lakh Bahosi Sanctuary (Chaturvedi 1990-1999). Besides, there are records of Sarus crane, of which the number is not estimated. Besides the large congregations of waterfowl, some easily exceeding their 1% biogeographic threshold, this IBA also has three globally threatened and seven Near Threatened species. However, species-wise census data are not available. A pair of Black-necked Stork Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus is regularly seen in Bahosi, and probably breeds in the area. More than 400 Bar-headed Goose Anser indicus were seen a decade ago (Rahmani and Arora, 1992). Their number is reported to have gone up, thanks to good protection.

OTHER KEY FAUNA: Lakh Bahosi was established for the protection of waterfowl. There are not many mammals of conservation interest. Among the large mammals, only Bluebul Boselaphus tragocamelus is found in abundance and is an important crop pest. Jungle Cat Felis chaus, Golden Jackal Canis aureus, and Black-naped Hare Lepus nigricollis and other mammals have also been recorded.

MAIN THREATS: Grazing; Fisheries; Grass collection.

Management of this protected area is difficult, since a major portion of the area belongs to private landowners. Illegal hunting and bird trapping has been reported occasionally. While the Lakh jheel is nearly free of weeds, Bahosi is heavily infested with Ipomoea.

Key contributor: R. N. Chaturvedi.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Lakh-Bahosi Bird Sanctuary (India). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/lakh-bahosi-bird-sanctuary-iba-india on 22/11/2024.