Karanji Lake

Karanji Lake, also called Fountain Lake, lies in Mysuru and is run by the Mysore Zoo Authority. It covers 90 hectares, about 55 of them water. Once a haunt of herons and egrets, it was spoiled by sewage from nearby housing, and a restoration backed by the Asian Development Bank stopped the sewage, cleared silt and weeds, and added a boating jetty, a bridge, a bird-watching tower and a fountain that throws water up to 40 feet.

The nature park around the lake has a walk-through aviary 20 metres high, 60 long and 40 wide, described as the biggest in India, with an artificial waterfall and some 17 species, including hornbills and black swans. A butterfly park on a small island has recorded about 45 species. Surveys have counted 147 bird species at the lake, among them grey pelicans, painted storks and cormorants that nest on its islands, and peafowl are common. The Regional Museum of Natural History, opened in 1995, stands on the shore.