Kendrapara: Much to the joy of wildlife lovers, the rare 9.2 ft long 41-year-old female albino Gori has laid eggs after a gap of five years.
Kanika forest ranger Ashkay Kumar Nayak Monday said Gori has laid around 40 eggs in the pen of Dangamala Crocodile Research Centre within the Bhitarkanika National Park Sunday.
He said the captive reptile, one of the rare albinos in the sub-continent, was guarding the eggs in the pen since last evening. This time, the eggs are bigger in size than the eggs it laid in 2011.
In July 2011, Gori had laid 20-30 eggs. But hatchlings did not come out as they were infertile eggs.
A section of forest personnel is optimistic that this time hatchlings will come out from the eggs after 45 to 60 days as there is every possibility that Gori might have mated with a male crocodile during this mating season.
Nayak said they were of the view that Gori might have mated as the 10 decimal pen, in which Gori has been staying since its birth, was expanded up to 11 times the area and connected with a nearby creek in 2014.
Similarly, the pen of Hyderabadi, located near Gori’s pen, has also been expanded to the nearby creek for its free movement in natural atmosphere.
The ranger said there was every possibility that either Hyderabadi or any other male crocodile might have entered into the pen and mated with Gori. But other forest personnel apprehend that like last time, Gori had once again laid infertile eggs.
In 1980, ‘Gori’ shot to fame after shunning mates. The forest officials had tried in 1985, 1987, 1990 and 1992 for the mating of Gori by releasing wild male crocodiles in the pen. But the process was stopped after Gori turned violent and injured the male crocodiles.
She had lost her left eye in fight with her male counterparts. Gori was hatched artificially at the Dangamala Crocodile Research Centre June 26, 1975 from eggs collected from Kalibhanjdiha Island inside the sanctuary.
Due to its rare whitish colour and for doing further research work on her, the wildlife officials had decided to keep the baby albino crocodile in a pen. Since then, the small pen at Dangamala has become the home of the rare reptile, said Rajnagar DFO Bimal Prasanna Acharya.
With the passage of time, Gori has become old and its whitish complexion has faded a lot. PNN
