Ramsar site
A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O)
*** Permanent 8 ha (P)
*** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts)
**
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
. It was established in August 2003 it covers an area of in Kailali District at an elevation of on the lower slopes of the
Siwalik Hills
The Sivalik Hills, also known as the Shivalik Hills and Churia Hills, are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas that stretches over about from the Indus River eastwards close to the Brahmaputra River, spanning the northern parts of the India ...
. It was declared as a
bird sanctuary
An animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and to be protected for the rest of their lives. Pattrice Jones, co-founder of VINE Sanctuary defines an animal sanctuary as "a safe-enough place or relationship within the cont ...
in March 2022.
This Ramsar site consists of a system of around 13 large and shallow
oxbow lake
An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. In South Texas, oxbows left by the Rio Grande are called '' resacas''. In Australia, oxbow lakes are call ...
s and ponds with associated marshes and meadows. It is surrounded by
tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in
the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
forest and some streams along the periphery, which are separated by hillocks.Bhuju, U. R., Shakya, P. R., Basnet, T. B., Shrestha, S. (2007) ''Nepal Biodiversity Resource Book. Protected Areas, Ramsar Sites, and World Heritage Sites.'' International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, in cooperation with United Nations Environment Programme, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. Kathmandu,
Flora
The lake has record of 388 vascular plants: five ptredophytes, 253 dicots, and 130 monocots.
Fauna
The forest and wetlands serve as a
wildlife corridor
A wildlife corridor, habitat corridor, or green corridor is an area of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities or structures (such as roads, development, or logging). This allows an exchange of individuals between ...
between the
Terai
The Terai or Tarai is a lowland region in northern India and southern Nepal that lies south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas, the Sivalik Hills, and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. This lowland belt is characterised by tall grasslands, scr ...
lowland and the Siwalik Hills. They support critically endangered and vulnerable species including
Bengal tiger
The Bengal tiger is a population of the ''Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna.
The tiger is estimated to have been present in ...
,
smooth-coated otter
The smooth-coated otter (''Lutrogale perspicillata'') is an otter species occurring in most of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with a disjunct population in Iraq. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1996 and is thre ...
,
Eurasian otter
The Eurasian otter (''Lutra lutra''), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia. The most widely distributed member of the otter subfamily (Lutrinae) of ...
,
swamp deer
The barasingha (''Rucervus duvaucelii''), also known as the swamp deer, is a Cervidae, deer species distributed in the Indian subcontinent. Populations in Northern India, northern and central India are fragmented, and two isolated populations occ ...
red-crowned roofed turtle
The red-crowned roofed turtle or Bengal roof turtle (''Batagur kachuga'') is a species of freshwater turtle endemic to South Asia. It was the type species of its former genus ''Kachuga''. Females can grow to a shell length of and weigh , but m ...
and
three-striped roofed turtle
The three-striped roofed turtle (''Batagur dhongoka'') is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae. The species is endemic to South Asia.
Geographic range
The three-striped roofed turtle is found in Bangladesh, India (Assam, Bihar, Madhya ...
.
During a survey in February 2021, 26
mugger crocodile
The mugger crocodile (''Crocodylus palustris'') is a medium-sized broad- snouted crocodile, also known as mugger and marsh crocodile. It is native to freshwater habitats from southern Iran to the Indian subcontinent, where it inhabits marshes, ...