Kendrapara: The carcass of an 11-foot-long female saltwater crocodile was found near the Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha’s Kendrapara district, officials said Tuesday.
It is the eighth incident of unnatural death of a reptile in 22 months, they said.
“The forest officials retrieved the bloated carcass from the Kani river near Baluria village Monday. It has been sent to the veterinary hospital at Rajnagar for post-mortem,” Rajnagar Mangrove (Wildlife) divisional forest officer JD Pati said.
Saltwater crocodiles are covered under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act. The rivers, creeks and other waterbodies within the Bhitarkanika are home to around 1,800 saltwater crocodiles.
Fishing is banned in the water bodies of Bhitarkanika. But, some locals illegally fish in the river, and it is taking a toll on the estuarine crocodiles, environmentalist Hemant Rout said.
As illegal fishing goes unabated and offenders go scot-free, crocodiles are getting killed, Rout said.
