Bharatpur

History at a glance

1. 1726-1763
   Maharaja Suraj Mal builds the Ajan Bund at the confluence of the Gambhir and Banganga, flooding a natural depression believed to be an old bed of the Yamuna.
2. 1850s
   The area is established as the private duck-shooting preserve of the Maharaja of Bharatpur.
3. 1901
   The wetland is first deliberately flooded to create a hunting reserve.
4. February 1938
   Viceroy Lord Linlithgow's hunting party shoots 4,273 ducks in a single day — the highest single-day count ever recorded here. A plaque in the Salim Ali Visitor Centre still records it.
5. 1956
   Designated the Keoladeo Ghana (Bharatpur) Bird Sanctuary by the Forestry Department.
6. 1964
   The last big shoot is held.
7. 1967-1972
   Designated a Protected Forest in 1967. The Maharaja retains shooting rights until 1972, when the Wildlife (Protection) Act prohibits shooting.
8. 1 October 1981
   Designated a Ramsar site, reference 230.
9. 10 March 1982
   Established as Keoladeo Ghana National Park. Grazing is banned, leading to violent clashes between local farmers and the government.
10. 1985
    Inscribed by UNESCO at the 9th Session under natural criterion (x), reference 340. IUCN's evaluation notes it is artificially created and maintained, that there is no possibility of a buffer zone, and that it is the only site where the Siberian crane winters.
11. 1990
    Entered on the Montreux Record of wetland sites under stress.
12. 2002
    The last Siberian crane sighting in the park. None has been recorded since.
13. 2024
    A UNESCO State of Conservation report confirms the central-flyway Siberian crane population is considered extinct. The park's habitat is still maintained for a possible return.

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