Kendrapada: After a three-month break, the Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha’s Kendrapada district reopened for tourists on Tuesday.
It remained out of bounds for visitors from May 1 to July 31 during the mating and nesting season of the saltwater crocodiles residing there to allow them a tranquil and calm environment. The reptiles are also known for turning more violent during this period of the year.
Around 122 saltwater crocodiles nested during the season this year, Bhitarkanika DFO Sudarshan Gopinath Yadav said adding that 1,793 reptiles were found in the park during the census conducted in January this year. The national park houses an estimated 70 per cent of the country’s estuarine or saltwater crocodile population, conservation of which started in 1975.
He also informed that around 30 local youths were recently trained to work as guides for the tourists, who can now log on to ‘www.ecotourodisha.com’ and book their visit to the park. The forest department has also constructed rest houses in Dangamala, Habalikothi and Gupti, he said.
Yadav added that some private tour and travel companies will also set up well-furnished tents for the tourists in Bhitarkanika.
The Bhitarkanika National Park and the adjoining wildlife sanctuary have been accorded the designation of a ‘Ramsar site’, meaning it is a wetland of international importance. Inundated by rivers such as Brahmani, Dhamra, Pathsala, and Baitarani, the forests host the second-largest mangrove ecosystem in India after the Sunderbans in West Bengal. Large numbers of local birds, who have already arrived in Bhitarkanika for nesting, are an added attraction here.
