Kendrapara: A five-feet-long male estuarine crocodile, which strayed from Bhitarkanika river system into a community pond, was caught alive by forest personnel.

The reptile had sneaked into the pond in Shailendra Nagar village in Krushna Nagar gram panchayat under Rajnagar tehsil to eat fish and aquatic species.

It got entangled into the fishing net spread by local inland fishermen. After spotting the reptile in the net, local residents, including fishermen, got panicked and informed the police and forest officials.

"The crocodile is safe and no injury was caused to it while it was captured by skilled wildlife staff of the forest department," said Kanika forest range officer Bijoy Kumar Patra. The crocodile had strayed into the water body from salt-water creeks of Bhitarkanika. "It was released in the Bhitarkanika river system later," he said. People living on fishing activities were panic-stricken following the intrusion of crocodile.

"We were frightened to see the crocodile as they were never spotted in water bodies of these areas before," said local resident Seikh Ashgar Ali. Water-bodies in Shailendra Nagar village are connected to saltwater river system of the Bhitarkanika National Park.

The water in these creeks is saline. The animal might have strayed into the water-bodies during high tide, said a wildlife personnel.