Baby crocodiles poised to move to water bodies in Bhitarkanika

Baby crocodiles have come out of eggshells to move into water-bodies in and around Bhitarkanika national park in Odisha, marking the culmination of annual breeding and nesting of these endangered reptiles.

A record number of 80 nesting sites of estuarine crocodiles were spotted in the national park in Kendrapara district this year, officials said.

The sight of baby crocs breaking out of their eggs and loitering aimlessly before hopping into the water-bodies and creeks was a visual treat.

The emergence of hatchlings commenced since Wednesday and would continue for the next six to seven days, said Forest Range Officer Akshaya Kumar Nayak.
 

A group of ground-level staff engaged in maintaining watch and vigil on the nests was privileged to watch the rare phenomenon. The fledgling crocodiles emerged from the shells sans mothers. Female crocodiles lay 50 to 60 eggs and the hatchlings usually emerge from the nests after 70 to 80 days of incubation period, he said.

However, hardly one of every hundred baby crocodiles grows to become adult as their mortality rate is very high. In the wild, babies are devoured by predating aquatic animals, observed reptile researcher, Sudhakar Kar.

The annual captive breeding of crocodiles as part of 'rear and release' programme of these endangered species, has been suspended. Under the programme, eggs collected from the wild were hatched artificially in an enclosure, said officials. Rear and release of these hatched reptiles has been going on since 1975, funded by United National Development Programme (UNDP) and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

The conservation project undertaken in Bhitarkanika tasted success while a similar UNDP-funded 'gharial croc' conservation project launched simultaneously in Angul district's Tikarpada Sanctuary was a failure. Adequate conservation measures by the state forest department have led to a systematic rise in the number of these reptiles over the years, claimed officials.

The number of salt water crocodiles, the species which is not found in any other river system in Odisha, as per the latest census, stood at 1,682 in Bhitarkanika wildlife sanctuary.