Crocodiles
Crocodiles (family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia.
All crocodiles are semiaquatic and tend to congregate in freshwater habitats such as rivers, lakes, wetlands and sometimes in brackish water and saltwater.
All crocodiles are tropical species.
Why it is in news?
Over the last decade, most human-crocodile conflicts have been reported from areas around Bhitarkanika National Park, India’s largest habitation of estuarine or saltwater crocodiles.
The reptile is considered the largest of the living crocodilians in the world, with males growing up to 20 feet and weighing over 1,000 kg.
But the four lakh people living around the national park, on the banks of rivers, worry about crocodile attacks and losing their connection with rivers.
The Brahmani and the 365-km-long Baitarani rivers meet the Bay of Bengal near Bhitarkanika, the tides from the sea creating a unique world for flora and fauna.
Crocodiles live in the Bhitarkanika mangrove ecosystem, preying on the fish and crabs.
But during the monsoon, when rivers flood, they are pushed into smaller water bodies.
In the breeding season, which coincides with the rainy season, crocodiles become aggressive, to protect their hatchlings.
The estuarine crocodile (crocodylus porosus) is identified in the Red List of threatened species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
It is, however, listed in India under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, in Schedule I, meaning it is one of the 62 reptiles that receive topmost protection.
Researchers say increasing human-crocodile conflicts could be attributed to overpopulation of the species in Bhitarkanika National Park.
The impact of climate change within the mangrove habitats, especially the mud banks favoured by adults for basking, is uncertain, with some erosion and deposition of sediments.
Increased rainfall and flooding in the monsoon are likely to cause changes in the available basking habitats.
The sea-level rise will tend to reduce these areas... so crocodiles may seek other basking areas outside the site, leading potentially to human-animal conflict.
Pathshala River
Pathshala River
Pathsala river part of Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha.
Brahmani River
Brahmani River
The Brahmani is a major seasonal river in the Odisha.
Together with the river Baitarani, Brahmani forms a large delta before emptying into the Bay of Bengal at Dhamra.
It is the second widest river in Odisha after Mahanadi.
At about 480 kilometres long, the Brahmani is the second longest river in Odisha after the Mahanadi.
The Brahmani delta is the site of the Bhitarkanika wildlife sanctuary, famous for its estuarine crocodiles.
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