Kendrapada: The nine-day ban on entry of tourists into Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha’s Kendrapada district will begin from Friday in view of the annual headcount of saltwater crocodiles.
A total of 22 teams of enumerators assisted by trained local forest staff and some herpetologists, including noted crocodile researcher Sudhakar Kar, would cover the river system besides innumerable creeks, water inlets and nullahs. The forest department will deploy soundless boats and impose an ban on entry of visitors to the park during this period to prevent noise pollution during the counting.
“The teams will cover rivers and canals in Mahakalapada, Rajnagar, Gahirmatha and Kania,” said DFO of Rajnagar Mangrove and Wildlife Division Sudarshan Gopinath Yadav.
According to sources, they will use GPS to map the exact location of the crocodiles and digital cameras for photographic interpretation with exact date and time of location for measuring the length and age of the crocodiles
A day-long bird census will also be conducted at the park and its nearby areas on January 6. Around 100 persons, including ornithologists, officials of wildlife organisations and activists divided into 16 teams will take part in the bird count, sources said.
Notably, there was a marginal increase in the population of saltwater crocodiles in the water bodies of Bhitarkanika and its nearby areas in 2023. A total of 1,793 crocodiles, including 20 whitish individuals, were counted against 1,784 in 2022.
