Bhitarkanika National park to be closed for tourists till Jan 11 for crocodile census

Kendrapara:The Bhitarkanika National Park will be closed for the tourists for nine days till January 11 next to carry out the head count drive of Estuarine Crocodile .

Rajnagar Mangrove (Forest) and Wildlife Division DFO Dr Jangyadatta Pati said the restriction has been imposed to prevent noise pollution during the census drive of Estuarine crocodile to facilitate the census operation smoothly in a tranquil atmosphere

The headcount drive of the Saltwater crocodile will be organized under the supervision of DFO of Rajnagar Mangrove (Forest) and wildlife Division .

The entire day and night census operation will be monitored and supervised by the Technical expert, deputed from the Wildlife Headquarters ,the DFO said

The enumerators assisted by the trained local forest staff will cover the Bhitarkanika river system besides innumerable creeks, water inlets, nullahs where the reptiles found abundant.
The saltwater crocodile, being amphibious in nature, can be counted directly both on land, while basking on the river bed, and on water surfaces while floating.

During day time crocodiles basking on land are easier to count and their size class can be
estimated easily and accurately.At night, crocodiles less than 6 feet floating on water or resting on land can be counted by using a spot light and catching the reflected 'ruby red" glow from their eyes.

However during the day time and night time census, only a proportion of crocodiles will be visible at any one time, others will be submerged in water.

This year the census operation of the Saltwater crocodile will be conducted using both traditional methods and also adopting the new technologically base - polygon search method .
The forest personnel of Bhitarkanika National park for the first time will adopt polygon search which is based on mobile application, to ensure the density of crocodile population, the DFO said.As many as 22 teams were formed to carry out the census operation of the Estuarine crocodile .

As many as 1768 Estuarine crocodiles ,including some reptiles measuring more than 20 feet,
were spotted in and outside the water bodies of Rajnagar Mangrove forest Division(wildlife)
during the head count drive of estuarine crocodiles in 2021.

Bhitarkanika National park is the only place in India, where Saltwater crocodile head count drive has been carried out every year since 1976.(UNI)