Crocodile rescued from village pond

Kendrapara: The forest personnel of Rajnagar range rescued a 4.9 feet long estuarine crocodile from a pond at Barhapur under Koilipur gram panchayat of Rajnagar block.

Sources said the female crocodile was spotted in the early hours of Friday by a villager near his pond. The Rajnagar forest officials rushed to the spot after being informed by the villagers and managed to fish out the crocodile with the help of a net. The rescued crocodile was later released into Baunsagadi river which is within the Bhitarkanika National Park, forest officials said. The crocodile had strayed into the pond from the nearby crocodile-infested Hansua river. Crocodiles generally stray from their natural habitat to nearby rivers and water bodies as the salinity levels increase due to the ingress of tidal water into the creeks and rivulets.

The reptiles move from Bhitarkanika National Park to nearby rivers and ponds in search of less saline water, said a forest official.