Kendrapara: The Bhitarkanika National Park will remain closed for ten days for tourists from January 5 to carry out the headcount of estuarine crocodiles.
DFO of Rajnagar Mangrove (Forest) and Wildlife Division Gopinath Sudarshan Yadav Monday said the restriction on the visitors’ entry into the park is to prevent noise pollution during the census drive and also to facilitate the census operation smoothly in a tranquil atmosphere. The headcount drive of saltwater crocodiles will be organised under the supervision of DFO of Rajnagar Mangrove (Forest) and Wildlife Division.
The entire day-and-night census operation will be monitored and supervised by the technical expert deputed from the Wildlife Division headquarters. The enumerators, assisted by the trained local forest staff, will cover the Bhitarkanika river system besides innumerable creeks, water inlets and nullahs, where the reptiles are found in abundant numbers. The saltwater crocodile, being amphibious, can be counted directly on land while basking on the river bed, and water surfaces while floating.
During day time, crocodiles basking on land are easier to count and their size class can be estimated easily and accurately. At night, crocodiles less than six feet floating on water or resting on land can be counted by using a spotlight and catching the reflected ‘ruby red’ glow from their eyes. The park authority will use both traditional methods and also the new technology-based mobile application – polygon search method – like last year to ensure the density of the crocodile population, Kanika forest ranger Manas Kumar Das said. As many as 1,793 numbers of estuarine crocodiles were spotted in and outside the water bodies of Rajnagar Mangrove Forest & Wildlife Division during the headcount drive of estuarine crocodiles last year.
