Kendrapara: Forest personnel have spotted 75 nests of estuarine crocodiles in Kanika, Mahakalapara and Rajnagar ranges under Bhitarkanika National park till date in the ongoing nesting season of crocodiles, said Rajnagar DFO Bimal Prasanna Acharya.
However, not a single nest has been sighted in Gahirmatha forest range, he added. Each nest is enriched with 45 to 60 eggs, officials said.
Every year, the forest personnel collect eggs from wild nests and incubate them in captivity under semi-natural conditions. The hatchlings are reared for three years and then released into the wild by way of ‘rear & release’ technique as part of a programme to conserve the endangered species.
Kanika rorest range personnel have collected 42 eggs from wild nests at Sagunachera. The eggs have been kept at the artificial hatchery in Dangamal-based Crocodile Breeding and Research Centre, said ranger Akhaya Kumar Nayak.
Rajnagar division has imposed a three-month ban (May 1 to July 31) on entry of tourists to the national park in view of the counting of crocodile nests in the water bodies of Bhitarkanika and nearby rivers.
The water bodies of Bhitarkanika National Park are home to as many as 1,671 estuarine crocodiles, including those measuring more than 20 ft. PNN
