A sub-adult female saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) has been reportedly found at Pallipalem hamlet, off Machilipatnam coast, in Krishna district on Friday. The crocodile measured at least five feet length and weighed nearly 50 kg.
A group of fisherfolk belonging to Pallipalem village reportedly sighted the crocodile at the boat anchoring point while they were taking bath at the beach. “We wanted to hand it over to the police, sensing a threat from it since it was sighted at our boat anchoring point,” M. Goutham Kumar told The Hindu. Mr. Kumar is one of the three youths who brought the reptile to their village to hand it over to the police.
No record
On being informed by the police, a Forest Department team, led by Forest Section Officer M. Srinivasa Rao, took possession of the crocodile. The Pallipalem residents tied its mouth with a nylon rope and kept under a tree here until the forest department staff arrived.
Krishna District Forest Officer N. Ramachandra Rao said there were no records about the presence of the saltwater crocodile in Krishna district, including Krishna Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS). “The initial plan was to shift the animal to Indira Gandhi Zoological Park in Visakhapatnam. However, it will now be released into the Bay of Bengal at an undisclosed location in Krishna district as it will survive in the sea,” Mr. Rao said.
“We cannot release the crocodile into the KWS as the species is not present in the sanctuary,” he added.
“We do not have any clue about the presence of the saltwater crocodile along Andhra coast. Recently a saltwater crocodile was sighted near Srikakulam coast,” Mr. Rao said.
Bitirkanika National Park in Odisha is a home for saltwater crocodile and s the nearest habitat of the saltwater crocodile from Andhra Pradesh.