Kendrapara: The number of nesting sites of estuarine crocodiles in the marshy wetlands of Bhitarkanika National Park has dipped to 84 from 103 last year, a senior official said Sunday.
Tidal waves during cyclone Yaas might have washed away several crocodile nesting sites but the factors behind the drop are being examined, JD Pati, Divisional Forest Officer of Rajnagar Mangrove (Wildlife) Forest Division said.
Female crocodiles lay around 50-60 eggs, and the hatchlings usually emerge from the nests after 70-80 days of incubation, he said.
The national park houses an estimated 70 per cent of the country’s estuarine or saltwater crocodile population, conservation of which started in 1975.
The number of saltwater crocodiles, which are not found in any other river system in Odisha, stood at 1,768 as per the census conducted in Bhitarkanika in January this year.
Bhitarkanika, a Ramsar site, is one of the richest storehouses of mangrove genes. In the national park, researchers have come across 11 of the 70 mangrove species that were facing a threat of extinction around the world.
Officials claimed that conservation measures by the state Forest Department over the years have led to a systematic rise in the number of crocodiles.
Bhitarkanika continues to remain out of bounds for tourists in view of the global Covid-19 pandemic. It remains closed from May 31 to July 31 every year to ensure disturbance-free nesting of crocodiles, the official said.
Incidentally, Odisha is the only state in the country where three species of crocodiles – saltwater, gharial and mugger – are found inhabiting the river systems.
PNN