Rajnagar: The forest personnel Wednesday rescued a 13.3 feet long male saltwater or estuarine crocodile from Mahulia nullah on the fringes of Bhitarkanika National Park here. According to sources, the locals came across a giant crocodile hiding in the shrub near the water body and informed the DFO of Rajnagar Mangrove Forest and Wildlife Division. DFO Sudarshan Gopinath Yadav later directed the rangers of Rajnagar and Kanika forest ranges to rush to the spot with the team and capture the giant crocodile.
Around 35 forest personnel arrived to net the giant crocodile in the presence of frightened people at Mahulia village in the Rajnagar police station area. The forest officials swung into action and netted the reptile from the water body after a grueling six-hour-long search operation clearing the weeds and common water hyacinth.
The local residents were frightened after the giant crocodile managed to sneak into the nullah during the high tide from Baunsagada rivulet by crossing the village road. The captured crocodile was later released in Baunsagada rivulet within Bhitarkanika National Park. “It was quite difficult to catch the huge crocodile. It was later released into the wild. Thankfully, neither did the reptile harm anyone nor was it hurt,” DFO Sudarshan Gopinath Yadav said. The villagers alleged that the crocodile had killed a 45- year-old woman June 21 while she was cleaning her utensils near a pond located in the backyard of her house. The crocodile had dragged her into the nearby Charadia nullah and killed the woman. Soon after the incident, the forest personnel launched a search operation to capture the reptile but failed in their move to catch it. The saltwater crocodile population in Bhitarkanika has increased manifold from 96 in 1975 to 1,793 at present.