Vadodara: The wetlands of lush green Charotar belt are a home to a healthy population of crocodiles, just like the wandering Vishwamitri river of Vadodara is an abode of mugger crocodiles.
Affectionately known as ‘salties’, the saltwater crocodiles thrive in saline and brackish water conditions on India’s eastern coast while Bihar’s Gandak river is providing a breeding ground to congregation of the critically endangered gharials. But what if you want to know India’s crocodile population?
Volunteers, wildlife enthusiasts, nature lovers, students and people in general will be able to report crocodiles that they spot in any corner of the country through a first of its kind attempt to survey the population of these reptiles using ‘citizen science’ approach.
Voluntary Nature Conservancy (VNC) which has been conducting the the annual ‘Charotar Crocodile Count’ will be launching ‘Croc Watch’ – an interactive web interface that allows a person to report on crocodiles spotted anywhere in the country.
“Croc Watch is a citizen science initiative to collect information on the three crocodilian species found in the country and to create a centralised database that can aid in research and conservation of these species,” said Dhaval Patel, managing trustee of VNC.
“Before Charotar Crocodile Count, nobody had an idea on how healthy population of crocodiles is in the twin districts of Anand and Kheda. Croc Watch will help us know many more such hidden treasures,” he said. “Croc Watch (https://cw.vncindia.org/) is touted to be the world’s first such attempt to collect information on the extent of the distribution of three species. It will help identify key areas for crocodile conservation across the country, which in turn may lead to help take decisions for their long-term conservation and management,” said Anirudh Vasava, research coordinator of VNC.
Nearly 310 volunteers, representing almost every state, have already registered as participants in this initiative for which experts have been roped in. Participants will submit the data throughout the year which will help in recording seasonal variations as well.
The initiative will be launched with three days events in which Dr Marisa Tellez, co-founder and executive director of Central America’s Belize-based Crocodile Research Coalition, Australia-based zoologist Dr Adam Britton and Vadodara-based Dr Raju Vyas, the joint vice chair of the IUCN crocodile special group (South Asia and Iran) are speakers.