World Crocodile Day: Experts call for patience regarding human-croc conflict
At Australia Zoo they are all about caring for and conservation and raising awareness, for the saltwater crocodiles. Founder Steve Irwin, who used to live in a house , now his family run the Zoo, would be very proud.
Down To Earth (DTE) spoke to crocodilian experts in four human-crocodile conflict hotspots in India: Vadodara in Gujarat, Kota in Rajasthan, Bhitarkanika in Odisha and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Vadodara, the third-largest city in Gujarat, has been described as an island of crocodiles in a human-dominated landscape. The shallow, sluggish Vishwamitri river that flows through the heart of the city, is home to over 200 muggers. Every monsoon, the media is rife with reports of crocodiles entering city localities and being rescued. There have been attacks on humans, fatal as well as non-fatal, in the city and the surrounding district.
“Please don’t make the crocodile the villain here. Attacks usually increase when humans approach river banks,” herpetologist Raju Vyas, who has studied the crocodiles in the region for two decades, told DTE.
All about the saltwater crocodiles 🐊- National Geographic
The IUCN crocodile specialist group
