Red eared slider turtle basking at Taudaha Lake

Taudaha Lake is a small lake in the outskirts of Kathmandu, in Nepal. The name comes from a combination of Newari words 'Ta', meaning snake and 'Daha', which means lake.

Mythological origins

The Taudaha Lake is believed to be a remnant pool of the huge lake that once existed where now the city of Kathmandu sits. According to mythology, a Buddhist mythical character

Manjushree Mañjuśrī (Sanskrit: मञ्जुश्री) is a ''bodhisattva'' associated with '' prajñā'' (wisdom) in Mahāyāna Buddhism. His name means "Gentle Glory" in Sanskrit. Mañjuśrī is also known by the fuller name of Mañjuśrīkumāra ...

cut the hill in the valley's south, allowing the lake's water to drain off, thereby creating land that was duly occupied by people. Folklore suggests that that "cut" in the hill is the Chobar Gorge, a narrow passage from which the Bagmati River exits the Kathmandu Valley. After the water of the ancient lake drained away, a few small lakes and ponds were created beyond the hills. Taudaha is believed to be one of those ponds. When the lake was drained, countless nagas, mythological creatures that were half human and half serpent, were left homeless. This made the Naga King Karkotak livid. In order to allay his wrath, the locals living near Taudaha built an underwater palace, studded with precious stones and riches beyond imagination. The Serpent King was pleased and ruled his serpent subjects in their underwater kingdom. The king also promised to protect the humans living around the lake, on the condition that the tranquility of his water abode never be disrupted. It is due to this that even today locals do not swim or fish in the lake.

Animals

Various species of birds have been recorded out of which many are residents, a few are summer migrants and rest are winter migrants.

Black kite The black kite (''Milvus migrans'') is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors. It is thought to be the world's most abundant species of Accipitridae, although some populations have ...

, Black drongo,

Cattle egret The cattle egret (''Bubulcus ibis'') is a cosmopolitan species of heron (family Ardeidae) found in the tropics, subtropics, and warm-temperate zones. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Bubulcus'', although some authorities regard ...

Oriental magpie robin The Oriental magpie-robin (''Copsychus saularis'') is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but now considered an Old World flycatcher. They are distinctive black and white birds with a long ...

, Common myna,

Jungle crow Jungle crow is a common name that refers to three species of crow. Initially thought to be a single species, the group has since been split into the following species: * Large-billed crow, ''Corvus macrorhynchos'' * Eastern jungle crow The easter ...

Rose-ringed parakeet The rose-ringed parakeet (''Psittacula krameri''), also known as the ring-necked parakeet (more commonly known as the Indian ringneck parrot), is a medium-sized parrot in the genus Psittacula, of the family Psittacidae. It has disjunct native ran ...

White-throated kingfisher The white-throated kingfisher (''Halcyon smyrnensis'') also known as the white-breasted kingfisher is a tree kingfisher, widely distributed in Asia from the Sinai east through the Indian subcontinent to China and Indonesia. This kingfisher is a ...

and

Red-vented bulbul The red-vented bulbul (''Pycnonotus cafer'') is a member of the bulbul family of passerines. It is a resident breeder across the Indian subcontinent, including Sri Lanka extending east to Burma and parts of Bhutan and Nepal. It has been introduc ...

are some of the resident birds.

Barn swallow The barn swallow (''Hirundo rustica'') is the most widespread species of swallow in the world. In fact, it appears to have the largest natural distribution of any of the world's passerines, ranging over 251 million square kilometres globally. ...

and

Indian cuckoo The Indian cuckoo (''Cuculus micropterus'') is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, that is found in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It ranges from India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka east to Indonesia ...

are summer visitors. Winter migrants include the

Great cormorant The great cormorant (''Phalacrocorax carbo''), known as the black shag in New Zealand and formerly also known as the great black cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the black cormorant in Australia, and the large cormorant in India, is a w ...

, ruddy shelduck,

Northern shoveler The northern shoveler (; ''Spatula clypeata''), known simply in Britain as the shoveler, is a common and widespread duck. It breeds in northern areas of Europe and across the Palearctic and across most of North America, wintering in southern E ...

Mallard duck The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced species, introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Bra ...

, Gadwall,

Eurasian coot The Eurasian coot (''Fulica atra''), also known as the common coot, or Australian coot, is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae. It is found in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and parts of North Africa. It has a slaty-bla ...

Northern pintail The pintail or northern pintail (''Anas acuta'') is a duck species with wide geographic distribution that breeds in the northern areas of Europe and across the Palearctic and North America. It is migratory and winters south of its breeding ...

and

common teal The Eurasian teal (''Anas crecca''), common teal, or Eurasian green-winged teal is a common and widespread duck that breeds in temperate Eurosiberia and migrates south in winter. The Eurasian teal is often called simply the teal due to being th ...

. There are many species of fishes in the lake. It is well known for large carps. Common carp,

Silver carp The silver carp (''Hypophthalmichthys molitrix'') is a species of freshwater cyprinid fish, a variety of Asian carp native to China and eastern Siberia, from the Amur River drainage in the north to the Xi Jiang River drainage in the south. Alt ...

Grass carp The grass carp (''Ctenopharyngodon idella'') is a species of large herbivorous freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae, native to the Pacific Far East, with a native range stretching from northern Vietnam to the Amur River on the Sino-Russi ...

Bighead carp The bighead carp (''Hypophthalmichthys nobilis'') is a species of cyprinid freshwater fish native to East Asia, and is one of several Asian carps introduced into North America. It is one of the most intensively exploited fishes in fish farming, ...

and colourful carps have been introduced in the lake. These non-native species have disrupt the ecosystem and are out-competing the native species. Native fish species include catfishes and snakeheads. Mammals such as

Golden jackal The golden jackal (''Canis aureus''), also called common jackal, is a wolf-like canid that is native to Southeast Europe, Southwest Asia, South Asia, and regions of Southeast Asia. The golden jackal's coat varies in color from a pale creamy ...

Indian grey mongoose The Indian grey mongoose (''Urva edwardsii'') is a mongoose species native to the Indian subcontinent and West Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. The grey mongoose inhabits open forests, scrublands and cultivated fields ...

and several rodents are found around the lake.

Checkered keelback The checkered keelback (''Fowlea piscator''), also known commonly as the Asiatic water snake, is a common species in the subfamily Natricinae of the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Asia. It is non-venomous. Description The eye of ...

and Oriental garden lizard are frequently sighted reptile species.

Migratory birds

The lake, arguably the only clean water body remaining in the Kathmandu Valley, is a stop over for numerous migratory bird species. In the winter, hundreds of water birds can be seen in and around the lake. Taudaha lake is one of the important site for Bird watching.

Gallery

File:Lotus in Taudaha.jpg, Lotus grown in Taudaha Lake File:Ruddy Shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea)- Female at Bharatpur I IMG 5336.jpg, Ruddy shelduck

References

{{reflist

External links

''International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development'',A checklist of birds of Taudaha Lake of Kathmandu, Nepal, May 28, 2018
Lakes of Bagmati Province