Bhubaneswar: The Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha’s Kendrapada district reopened for tourists on Sunday after being closed for ten days for the annual census of estuarine crocodiles.
The wildlife sanctuary was closed from January 4 to 14 for the survey to avoid human interference during the exercise. The population of saltwater crocodiles has gone up in the National Park with the annual census putting the headcount at 1,793. A total of 569 hatchlings, 388 yearlings, 325 juveniles, 166 sub-adults and 345 adult crocodiles were spotted. Wildlife enumerators also re-sighted 20 rare white crocodiles in the brackish water bodies and water inlets along the wetlands of the park.
Notably, Bhitarkanika is home to 70 per cent of the country’s estuarine crocodiles, conservation of which started in 1975.
The number of winged guests flocking to the National Park, which is about 130 km from Bhubaneswar, also increased marginally this year. Around 81,930 geese and ducks were spotted, and grebes, rails, gallinules, finfoots, jacanas, gulls, terns, and sandpipers were seen during the census exercise conducted on January 6.
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