KENDRAPARA: A 14-feet male saltwater crocodile was netted by the forest officials from a canal at Mahulia village within Bhitarkanika national park of Kendrapara district on Wednesday.
It took around five hours for the forest officials to net the huge crocodile much to the shock of the locals present at the spot. The crocodile is suspected to have entered the village canal from river Bausagada during high tide, crossing the village road. On the way, it tried attacking a farmer when he was taking a bath in the canal, following which the villagers alerted forest officials.
In Bhitarkanika, the estuarine crocodiles have killed three persons including a ten-year-old boy in a fortnight.
“When I saw it after its capture I couldn’t believe crocodiles could be this big,” said Gajendra Mallick of Mahulia village.
“We roped the reptile after netting it and released it in the nearby Bausagada River within the park. The crocodile did not attack humans. It was also not injured while being captured,” said Bhitarkanika DFO Sudarshan Gopinath Yadav.
The villagers have been advised to use the river and pond water carefully by erecting barricades in the river and pond ghats, he added. Around 1,793 crocodiles were counted in Bhitarkanika this year.