Pong Dam Lake Wildlife Sanctuary:
The 2025 annual bird count at Pong Dam Lake Wildlife Sanctuary recorded an unprecedented surge in waterfowl, with a total of 1,53,719 birds of 97 species, according to officials.
- Pong Dam Lake (also known as Maharana Pratap Sagar) is a manmade reservoir formed due to the construction of Pong Dam on Beas River in the wetland zone of Shivalik hills in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh.
- It is one of the largest man-made wetlands in Northern India.
- It covers an area of almost 307 sq km.
- It was designated a Ramsar site in 2002.
- It consists of submerged vegetation, grasslands, and forests, including species like eucalyptus, acacia and shisham.
- Given the site’s location on the trans-Himalayan flyway, more than 220 bird species have been identified, with 54 species of waterfowl.
- Avifauna include Bar-headed geese, Pintails, common pochards, coots, Grebes, Cormorants, Herons, Storks, angle fowls, peafowl, Grey partridges, etc.
- It is also home to animals like Sambar, Barking Deer, Wild Bear, Nilgai, Clawless Otter and Leopards.
