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Ecology & Environment
Pradeep Kumar

06/06/21 11:20 AM IST

Saltwater crocodiles

In news

The carcass of a five-feet-long saltwater crocodile was found in the Patasala river near Silapokhari village within the Bhitarkanika National Park (BNP) in Odisha’s Kendrapara district.

Highlights
  • The reptile choked and drowned by being caught inside a fishing net or died due to infighting. 
  • Saltwater crocodiles were included in Schedule I of India’s Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
  • The saltie’s death has exposed lacunae in the crocodile conservation work done in the park.
  • The rivers, creeks and other water bodies within BNP are the home of around 1,800 saltwater crocodiles.
Background
  • In 1975, the then-Union Ministry of Forest and Environment, in a collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme had started a crocodile breeding and rearing project in Dangamala within BNP.
  • Relentless efforts by the authorities have increased the number of crocodiles in Bhitarkanika to 1,768 in January 2021, from just 96 in 1974.
  • The forest department had stopped the crocodile breeding and rearing programme in 2012 in the park as the crocodile population had reached a saturation point.
Source: PIB

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