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Saltwater Crocodiles

January 18, 2024

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Context (DTE): The number of saltwater or estuarine crocodiles in and around Odisha’s Bhitarkanika National Park has slightly increased in 2024.

Saltwater or estuarine crocodiles

Distribution: Abundant in areas like the Sundarbans, Bhitarkanika National Park, and A&N Islands.
- Apart from the eastern coast of India, the saltwater crocodile is extremely rare on the Indian subcontinent.
Habitat: Thrives in saltwater habitats such as mangrove swamps, estuaries, and coastal areas.
Size: It is the largest of all crocodilians and the largest reptile in the world.
IUCN: Least Concern
CITES: Appendix I (except the populations of Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea, which are included in Appendix II).
WPA, 1972: Schedule I

Other Crocodile Species in India

Gharials (Critically Endangered) once thrived in all the major river systems of the Indian Subcontinent.
Today, they are extinct in the Indus River, in the Brahmaputra of Bhutan and Bangladesh, and in the Irrawaddy River.
Their distribution is limited to only 2% of their former range.
The Mugger (or marsh) crocodile (Vulnerable) is a freshwater species found sparsely in various lakes, rivers and marshes in the Indian subcontinent.

Bhitarkanika National Park

It is the second Ramsar Site of Odisha after Chilika Lake.
Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary separates the National Park from the Bay of Bengal.
It is inundated by the rivers Brahmani, Baitarani & Dhamra.
It hosts many mangrove species and is the second-largest mangrove ecosystem in India.
Major Fauna: Saltwater (Estuarine) Crocodile (LC).
Major Flora: Mangrove species.

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