The Chilika Lake - Queen of Natural Beautyby Ananya Singh | 18-02-2019 22:16 |
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![]() ![]() The Chilika Lake, which is a paradise on Earth for bird watchers and nature lovers, is the largest internal salt water pond that can be found in Asia. The pear-shaped lake is dotted with a few small islands and has fisheries and salt pans around its shore. This island is nestled in the heart of coastal Odisha and extends from Puri district in the north to Ganjan district in the south, and is separated from the Bay of Bengal by a 60 kilometres long narrow strip of sand-flats and marshy islands. Avifauna-rich Chilika, on the east coast of India, is one of Asia¡¯s largest lakes. The wonderfully lush wetlands here, along the shores of the lagoon, have been described as India¡¯s finest, and, not surprisingly, these attract a host of water birds, local as well as migratory. Chilika¡¯s swamps also support the livelihoods of more than 25,000 fishermen, and the lake has been designated a Ramsar Site under the international convention on wetlands. The ecosystem here supports an abundant biodiversity, and shelters a fair number of endangered species. Chilika was given sanctuary status in 1972, and became a Ramsar Site in 1982. The Chilika Lake in Odisha has emerged as the ¡°single largest habitat of Irrawaddy dolphins in the world¡±, following a fresh monitoring survey that pegs the number of individuals of the endangered species at 155. Here's a video of Chilika Lake : https://youtu.be/N7WWGfIpP4c |