Kendrapara: Rajnagar forest range personnel have rescued a 4.9-foot-long female estuarine crocodile from a pond at Barhapur under Koilipur panchayat of Rajnagar block in this district. According to Forest officials, the female crocodile was spotted in the early hours of Friday by Kalpataru Khanduala near his pond located in the backyard of his house. Rajnagar Forest personnel rushed to the spot after being informed by the villagers and managed to fish out the estuarine crocodile with the help of a fishing net.
The rescued crocodile was later released into the Baunsagadi River within the Bhitarkanika National Park, Forest officials said. The reptile had strayed into the pond from the nearby crocodile-infested Hansua River. Crocodiles generally stray from their natural habitat to nearby rivers and water bodies as the salinity levels increase due to the ingress of tidal water into the creeks and rivulets. In search of less saline water, the reptiles move from Bhitarkanika National Park to nearby rivers and ponds, explained Chittaranjan Beura, ranger of Rajnagar forest range.
