160 baby crocodiles released in Gandak river

160 baby crocodiles released in Gandak river

Patna June 17: The Bihar forest department in association with Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) released 160 baby crocodiles which are also known as fish-eating crocodiles (Gharial) in the Gandak River in the last three days.

The forest department has been preserving the fish-eating crocodile eggs in six places on the bank of Gandak River for the last three months. the Gandak River. After that, they were hatched and then released into the Gandak River.

The Bihar forest department is taking support from the Los Angeles Zoo California in the conservation and breeding of these crocodile eggs. Under its supervision, WTI and Forest and Environment Departments are engaged in the conservation and promotion of crocodiles.

An officer of the Bihar forest department said: “Under the Gandak Crocodile Recovery Project, the conservation of crocodiles has been accelerated. Under this, with the help of Wildlife Trust of India, the Forest Department and locally trained villagers, more than 600 baby crocodiles have been released in the river in the last ten years.”

The process of conservation of eggs and their breeding starts in March every year. When the female crocodiles make a nest on a high sand dune near the river and lay eggs. After this, the babies come out of the eggs in about two to three months.

The forest department has found five nests of crocodile eggs adjoining the Dhanaha-Ratwal bridge in the Bagaha sub-division in West Champaran where the Valmiki Tiger Reserve is located. Out of which 127 babies were bred from 4 nests. At the same time, for the first time, a nest was found at Sadhu Ghat in Sohagi Barwa, Uttar Pradesh, adjacent to the Bagaha border of Bihar. 33 babies that came out from eggs. Breeding has not been done from one nest yet.

The initiative of the Wildlife Trust of India towards the conservation and promotion of the endangered and highly protected animal crocodile is bearing fruit. Last year, 125 baby crocodiles were released in the Gandak River. As a result, the number of crocodiles in the Gandak River is continuously increasing. After the Narmada River of Chambal, the highest number of crocodiles are found in the Gandak River of Bihar.

EOM.