Faunal diversity study of Rabindra Sarobar (Dhakuria Lake), Kolkata, West Bengal, India

The dataset “Faunal diversity study of Rabindra Sarobar (Dhakuria Lake), Kolkata, West Bengal, India” is published by Nature Mates Nature Club Rabindra Sarobar (previously known as Dhakuria Lake) is an artificial lake in south Kolkata, West Bengal. But it is also a National lake in India. The name also refers to the area surrounding the lake. It is flanked by Southern Avenue to the North, Rashbehari Avenue (Russa Road) to the West, Dhakuria to the East and the Kolkata Suburban Railway tracks to the south. In the early 1920s, the Calcutta Improvement Trust (CIT), a body responsible for developmental work in the Kolkata metropolitan area, acquired about 192 acres (0.78 km2) of marshy jungles. Their intention was to develop the area for residential use – improving the roads, raising and levelling some of the adjacent land and building lakes and parks. Excavation work was undertaken with the plan of creating a huge lake. Originally known as Dhakuria Lake, in May 1958, CIT renamed the lake as Rabindra Sarovar, as a tribute to the great Bengali writer and Nobel Laureate, Rabindranath Tagore. The area around this excavated lake was later developed to build recreational complexes, which included children’s parks, gardens, swimming and auditoria. Today the lake and its surrounding areas are one of the most popular recreational areas in Kolkata. 73 acres (300,000 m2) are covered by water, while shrubs and trees, some of which are more than 100 years old, occupy the rest of the area. Earlier, this lake was the lungs of Southern Calcutta. A partial tree census in 2012 recorded 50 different species. In the winter, one can spot some migratory birds along with resident birds around the lake. Though the numbers are dwindling because of the rise in pollution levels. The lake itself is home to many varieties of fish and odonates. Here fishing is strictly prohibited. This dataset enlists animal diversity observed on two days in two different years (11th February 2021 and 8th May 2023). During this biodiversity survey, we recorded Dragonflies (4 species), butterflies (8 species), fishes (6 species), reptiles (2 species), birds (48 species), and mammals (2 species). Species or genus-level identifications have been made for every species.