KENDRAPARA: Illegal fishing and absence of strict enforcement seem to be taking its toll on the endangered estuarine crocodiles in the protected Bhitarkanika National Park where the authorities recovered a 10-feet long reptile’s carcass on Friday.
The carcass of the female saltwater crocodile was discovered in Brahmani river near Paramananda village within the park. It is the sixth such instance in the park in last one year and 29th within nine years which experts feel must ring the alarm bell.
The carcass was floating in the river when forest officials spotted it. “We suspect the reptile was either entangled in the fishing nets or died during infighting with another crocodile,” said Bhitarkanika DFO Bikash Ranjan Dash.
Saltwater crocodile is a Schedule-I species under the Wildlife (Protection) Act,1972 and has been declared endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).