New Hatchlings Add To Croc Count in Bhitarkanika National Park

Kendrapara: Good news for wildlife lovers in Odisha. The number of estuarine crocodiles has increased in Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha’s Kendrapara district, forest department officials said.

As many as 101 crocodile eggs have been collected from wild nests, including 54 eggs from a single nest, till now, the officials said.

The eggs were incubated under semi-natural conditions and hatched artificially at the Crocodile Breeding and Research Centre at Dangamal inside Bhitarakanika.

As many as 41 crocodile hatchlings have come out of the eggs so far, Divisional Forest Officer of Rajnagar Mangrove (wildlife) Forest Division, Bimal Prasanna Acharya, informed.

Notably, the Salt Water Crocodile Research & Conservation Project was launched in July 1975 in Bhitarkanika National Park.

The breeding programme has helped increase the crocodile count in the national park from 96 in 1974 to 1,742 in 2019.