The crocodile that was released in the Ganga on Wednesday. Telegraph picture

Bhagalpur, Jan. 19: Villagers and forest officials joined hands this morning to release a crocodile into the wild.

Wildlife lovers and environmentalists heaved a sigh of relief, as the operation, conducted in Dayalpur villager of Birbanna panchayat in Kahalgaon sub-division, went off smoothly. The reptile was released in the Ganga at Bateshwarsthan.

The crocodile had been caught in a trap on January 18, after some of the villagers had spotted it in a local water body.

“The areas fall under the river’s floods catchment areas and during the flood in July and September the areas get submerged. After the floodwater recedes, small water bodies are left in the lowlands. It is possible that the crocodile had entered the lowlands with the floodwater but failed to return to the river when it receded,” said Sakaldeep Mandal, a villager. Anandi Yadav, another villager, said: “We were scared and stopped taking our cattle out for grazing near the water body.

A group of youths from the village managed to capture the crocodile after a four-hour- long operation.

“At first, the crocodile tore the ropes and managed to escape. But we finally caught him with the help of rope and bamboo traps,” said Vijay, a village youth.

Hundreds of residents of the neighbouring villages gathered to see the captured animal that was nearly 9ft in length and weighed about 1.5 quintal.

Arvind Mishra, an environmentalist, said the recovery of the crocodile was a good sign as it reflected the ecological balance and the good health of the riverbed, which has rich flora and fauna.

“The incident has proved again that the stretch of the river from Sultanganj to Kahalgaon can be considered a safe zone for the animals of the river. The maximum numbers of these animals can be found on this stretch,” said Mishra.

Gopal Sharma, a scientist with the wildlife conservation department, said because of the availability of rich flora and the favourable climatic conditions, the stretch of the river from Sultanganj to Kahalgaon is a haven for crocodiles, dolphins and other creatures. Nand Kishore, the divisional forest official, said the crocodile was set free under the supervision of senior forest department personnel.

B.L. Mandal, the range officer who conducted the release operation, said before setting it free, the experts minutely examined it and found it to be healthy.