KENDRAPARA: Forest officials rescued a 11-foot-long crocodile from Gupti village under Rajnagar range inside Bhitarkanika National Park here on Wednesday.
Six forest personnel captured the crocodile, which had entered a pond in the village on Tuesday afternoon, after a prolonged four-hour operation. The reptile was then safely released into Bausagada river.
“The crocodile neither attacked any human nor sustained injuries during the capture. It is suspected to have crossed the riverbank and entered the pond during high tide,” said Rajnagar forest range officer Chittaranjan Beura.
Many locals posed for photographs beside the captured crocodile before forest officials dispersed the crowd and shifted the reptile to its natural habitat. “We have advised villagers to use river and pond water cautiously and erect barricades at ghats.
Forest officials have constructed several barricades in rivers and ponds around Bhitarkanika to prevent crocodile attacks within the protected areas,” Beura said.
This is the seventh such incident reported from Bhitarkanika region in the past six months.