Chilika Lake

    CLake is a brackish water lagoon, spread over the Puri, Khurda and Ganjam districts of Odisha state on the east coast of India, at the mouth of the Daya River, flowing into the Bay of Bengal, covering an area of over 1,100 km.

   Chilika Lake is a brackish water lagoon,
spread over the Puri, Khurda and Ganjam
districts of Odisha state on the east coast of
India.

     According to some ancient texts, Chilka was considered as a major harbor for International trading. The famous Chinese traveler sailed across a port located at Chhatragarh on the banks of Chilka Lake. Further excavations revealed that Chilka Lake was a deep and open bay and a vital port & shelter for trading ships sailing towards Asia.

    

    Apart from residents and migratory birds, Chilika Wildlife Sanctuary is also home to Blackbuck, Spotted Deer, Golden Jackals, Hyenas and many more. Being richly famous for the presence of aquatic wildlife, Chilka Lake sanctuary also houses Prawn, Dolphin, Crab, Crustaceans and Limbless Lizard. More than 225 species of fish including Acentrogobius Griseus, Arius, Alepes Djedaba and the Elops Machnata are also found here.

   

     A survey of the fauna at Chilika by the Zoological Survey of India in 1985-87 recorded over 800 species in and around the lagoon. The list includes a number of rare, threatened and endangered species including the Barakudia limbless skink.

     It is also the largest wintering ground for migratory birds on the Indian sub-continent and supports some of the largest congregation of migratory birds from large parts of Asia, particularly during the winters that arrive from as far as the Caspian Sea, Lake Baikal, Aral Sea, remote parts of Russia, Kirghiz steppes of Mongolia, Central and South East Asia, Ladakh and the Himalayas to feed and breed in its fertile waters.

    The lake has several islands and form important habitat for the birds and animals. The hydrological system of the lake comprises of inflow of freshwater on a perennial basis from the Mahanadi river, and several rivers which are not perennial. On the east side the lake has the Bay of Bengal. The unique ecological system of the lake represents significant ongoing ecological and biological process and supports important communities of plant and animals on its freshwater coastal and marine ecosystem.