A 13.4-foot-long crocodile found dead on the banks of River Krishna near Gudadinni village in Bilagi taluk, Bagalkot district. It weighed 365 kilos. DH photo
The drying up of River Krishna in the district is endangering the lives of aquatic creatures. Three crocodiles in the river have died in the past 12 days owing to lack of food.
River Krishna has completely dried up after 3.27 tmc feet of water was released to Narayanapur reservoir last month. Moreover, deficient rain in the region too has added to the woes.
The river water has accumulated in small pits in the river bed where crocodiles had taken shelter. With farmers drawing water for their land from these pits using motors, crocodiles and other aquatic creatures are deprived of their lifeline.
A giant crocodile was found dead near the old bridge at Korti village on May 1 while two more died on May 9 and 12 near Gudadinni village.
“The 13.4-foot-long crocodile found dead on Friday weighed 365 kilos. The carcass was buried in the river bed on Saturday after a post-mortem,” said Bilagi Range Forest Officer Hanumantha Doni. He said that five crocodiles had entered sugarcane fields on the banks of the river in search of food and they had been rescued.
Veterinary doctor Dr Basavaraj, who conducted the post-mortem, said that crocodiles were facing food scarcity due to lack of water in the river.
“They are coming to the bank s of the river in search of food. But, being cold-blooded animals, crocodiles are unable to bear the temperature which is as high as 40 degrees Celsius. As a result, their body temperature goes up and crocodiles are dying due to multiorgan failure,” he explained.