Crocodile Census Begins In Bhitarkanika National Park

The yearly crocodile census in the Bhitarkanika National Park in the Kendrapara district has begun, according to the forest department. The drill is scheduled to go until January 22. To count the crocodiles in the creeks, rivers, and wetland regions throughout four ranges in the park and its environs, up to 22 teams have been organized. Because human activity may interfere with the process, the national park has remained closed to tourists.

The restrictions for visitors will also prevent noise pollution during the counting of the crocodiles. Bhitarkanika is believed to house 70 per cent of India’s estuarine crocodile or saltwater crocodiles, conservation of which started in Bhitarkanika in 1975. The number of saltwater crocodiles, the species that are not found in any other river system in Odisha, stands at 1,811 in the Bhitarkanika wildlife sanctuary, as per the latest census. Adequate conservation measures by the state forest department have led to a systematic rise in the number of these reptiles over the years, forest officials said.

 

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