KENDRAPARA: Forest officials have sighted around 114 nests of saltwater crocodiles during the nesting season this year in Bhitarkanika national park.
“In 2023 and 2022, we had counted 122 nests whereas in 2021 only 84 nests were found in Bhitarkanika due to inundation and tidal waves caused by cyclone Yaas,” said DFO of the park Sudarshan Gopinath Yadav. He said in 2020 and 2019, 103 nests of the estuarine crocodiles were sighted in the park. In 2018, the number was 101.
The rise in number of nests each year indicates the adult population of the crocodiles is increasing. “We had counted 1,811 crocodiles during the annual reptile census in January this year,” the DFO said. The Forest department stopped the crocodile breeding and rearing programme this year as the crocodile population had reached a saturation point. But the department collected 54 eggs from a nest to breed them in the crocodile breeding complex at Dangamal within the park for tourists and researchers.