East India has a treasure house of national parks, wild sanctuaries and reserves. Chilka Wildlife Sanctuary has a special significance. The Chilka Wildlife Sanctuary has been declared as a site of global significance in the 1970s, is situated on one of the larger islands, lying scattered by the side of Chilka Lake in Orissa.

The wild life sanctuary suits itself to the ecology of the Chilka Lake and its adjacent islands, which is a rapid interplay of both seawater and fresh water. Salinity levels differ and are lowest in the monsoon months. The freshwater content is rising to a large extent Also the silt accumulation from abundant streams in to the northern fringes of the region, has given rise to large areas of freshwater weeds. Due to rapid changes in nature, the whole of the Chilka Wildlife Sanctuary too is undergoing a facelift.

What is interesting is the formation of this Chilka Wildlife Sanctuary. As the popular saying goes, a rift in the rocky, coastal lineaments in south Orissa, almost five thousand years ago brought about the creation of Chilka Lake. Massive marine inundation first created an open bay on which a maritime trade post was established. Over the years, sandy littoral currents steadily and relentlessly created a ridge enfolding a huge lagoon between the sea on the one side and hills and rivers on the other.

The Chilka Wildlife Sanctuary is one of India`s great bird spectacles. Huge flocks of water birds including waterfowl (ducks, geese), waders (sandpipers, plovers, herons and storks, flamingos. myriads of gulls and terns, throng here during winter, joined by hordes of raptors.

The thin grass lands, scrubs, sandy shores host small numbers of Blackbuck, Spotted Deer, Jackal and Jungle Cat, besides hyenas and hares. Other mammalian species include Striped Hyena, Black-naped Hare, Common Mongoose, and Indian Porcupine Gangetic Dolphin etc.

Dolphins are sometimes sighted near the water bodies. Chilka Lake shelters about 150 species of fish on which near about twenty five thousand fishermen are dependant for their sustenance. Chilka offers several sites of interest along its inland edge, easily accessible by both road and train. Rambha, Barkul and Balugaon lie on the west side of the lake en route to Bhubaneshwar from Gopalpur-on-Sea, while Satapada, on the seaward side, is 48 km from Puri. Motorboat and kayak rides offer insights into rural lifestyles and Chilka`s wildlife.

The woodland regions are filled with the music of singing birds, namely, Grey Francolin, Blue-tailed Bee-eater and Oriental Pratincole etc. In habitual co-existence, one can also catch sight of various bird raptors like White-bellied Sea Eagle, Pallas`s Fish Eagle (above), Osprey, Short-toed Eagle, Eurasian Marsh Harrier, Steppe Eagle and Peregrine Falcon.

Some of the birds are mostly seen by the side of water bodies. These are namely Greater Flamingo, Lesser Flamingo, Great White Pelican, Spot-billed Pelican, Painted Stork, Greylag Goose, Bar-headed Goose, Ruddy Shelduck, Red-crested Pochard, Eurasian Spoonbill, Pied Avocet, Eurasian Curlew, Black-tailed Godwit, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Asian Dowitcher, Black-capped Kingfisher, Caspian Tern, Great Crested Tern and Pallas`s Gull, Collared Kingfisher.

Chilka wildlife Sanctuary is a favorite spot for the tourists who frequent the place in great numbers. In fact, it offers several sites of interest along its interior region, easily accessible by both road and train. Rambha, Barkul and Balugaon are situated on the west side of the lake, falls on the way to Bhubaneshwar from Gopalpur. Satapada, lying on the onshore side, is forty kilometers km from Puri. Motorboat and kayak rides provide insights into the wild life of the sanctuary. The sanctuary is falling prey to the increasing demands of commercial corporate needs of vistas of prawn and fish industries and tourism. Timely measures are being taken to save the wild flora and fauna that found in plenty in the sanctuary.