An estuarine crocodile at Bhitarkanika wildlife sanctuary

Kendrapara, June 30: Wildlife personnel at Bhitarkanika National Park have spotted 38 nesting sites of estuarine crocodiles even as the annual breeding ritual of these reptiles reached its concluding stage.

The nests were sighted by wildlife enumerators of the forest department along the innumerable nullahs, creeks and water-inlets in the Bhitarkanika river system, an ideal habitat for saltwater crocodiles.

The number of nests may increase as the counting process is still on, said divisional forest officer of Rajnagar mangrove (wildlife) forest division Manoj Kumar Mahapatra.

Crocodiles lay 50 to 60 eggs and the hatchlings usually emerge from the nests after 70 to 80 days of incubation.

Forest department officials said due care has been taken this time by the wildlife staff so that the eggs are not eaten by predators such as snakes, jackals and dogs found in the reserve.

Conservation measures by the state forest department have led to a rise in the number of these reptiles over the years, claimed an official.

The number of saltwater crocodiles, which are not found in any other river system in the state, according to the latest census in Bhitarkanika wildlife sanctuary, stood at 1,654.

The sanctuary has been out of bounds for tourists to ensure that the crocodiles may hatch eggs without any disturbance. The restriction on entry was clamped on May 31 and will be lifted on July 31, said an official.

“The growth in the population of these species has been slow. It is stagnating,” said Mahapatra.

Nowhere in the country are these species spotted in such abundance, he said.