Kendrapara, July 7: Wildlife personnel have spotted around 68 nesting sites of estuarine crocodiles at Bhitarkanika National Park.

The annual breeding ritual of these reptiles has reached its peak stage now.

Last year, 62 nests had been spotted. While 66 nests were spotted within the core area of the national park, two were found in the Ramachandi creek under Mahakalpada forest range outside the park.

The nests were sighted along the nullahs, creeks and water-inlets in the Bhitarkanika river system, an ideal habitat saltwater crocodiles.

Female crocodiles lay between 50 and 60 eggs and the hatchlings usually emerge after 70 to 80 days of incubation.

Forest department officials said they were taking care so that predators such as snakes, jackals and dogs did not devour the eggs.

Conservation measures by the forest department have led to a systematic rise in the number of crocodiles over the years, claimed officials.

The number of saltwater crocodiles, the species not found anywhere else in Odisha, stands at 1,644 at Bhitarkanika.

The wildlife sanctuary has remained out of bounds for tourists and visitors to ensure disturbance-free nesting of the crocodiles. Besides, the animals turn violent and restive with human interference in their habitats. The restrictions on entry to the sanctuary was clamped on May 31 and it will continue will July 31, said an official.

"The population of these species has been growing at a snail's pace. The growth is getting stabilised and also stagnated," said divional forest officer, Rajnagar Mangrove (wildlife) forest division, Bimal Prasanna Acharya. He added that nowhere in the country were these species spotted in such abundance.

Wildlife researchers studying these reptiles are of the view that habitat of these species was getting restricted to about 26sqkm of water bodies within the national park. These reptiles prefer these water bodies because of their salinity content.