Bhitarkanika to be shut from May 1 for three months for crocodile breeding season | Bhubaneswar News
Kendrapada: Bhitarkanika National Park will remain closed for tourists from May 1 to July 31, coinciding with the breeding season of saltwater crocodiles, officials announced on Monday.
Assistant chief conservator of forests (ACF) Manas Das said closure aims to prevent disturbances to the reptiles during their critical nesting and breeding period. “Female crocodiles become particularly aggressive during this time, and most crocodile attacks take place in the nesting season,” Das said.
The park, home to 1,826 saltwater crocodiles as of Jan 2025, has implemented strict measures to protect the breeding grounds. Forest guards have been instructed to monitor mother crocodiles, who lay 50 to 60 eggs per nest and guard them until hatching.
Local villagers have been prohibited from entering the forest during this period, as activities like honey collection and wood gathering can provoke the protective mother crocodiles. The ban also extends to mechanised boat operations to minimize disturbance to the breeding reptiles.
Sudhakar Kar, a noted crocodile researcher and former forest official, said female crocodiles construct nests using mangrove twigs, leaves, and mud on elevated grounds to protect eggs from flood waters. “Only one in 500 eggs in the wild survives to adulthood,” he added.
The park documented 114 nesting sites last year across its creeks, nullahs, and river systems. Bhitarkanika’s conservation success story has seen crocodile numbers surge from 97 in 1974 to current levels, leading to the closure of its 50-year-old artificial breeding programme in Feb 2024.
The park, which holds a Guinness World Record for housing a 23-ft crocodile in 2006, began its conservation journey in 1975 through a UNDP-supported breeding project at Dangamala.
Assistant chief conservator of forests (ACF) Manas Das said closure aims to prevent disturbances to the reptiles during their critical nesting and breeding period. “Female crocodiles become particularly aggressive during this time, and most crocodile attacks take place in the nesting season,” Das said.
The park, home to 1,826 saltwater crocodiles as of Jan 2025, has implemented strict measures to protect the breeding grounds. Forest guards have been instructed to monitor mother crocodiles, who lay 50 to 60 eggs per nest and guard them until hatching.
Local villagers have been prohibited from entering the forest during this period, as activities like honey collection and wood gathering can provoke the protective mother crocodiles. The ban also extends to mechanised boat operations to minimize disturbance to the breeding reptiles.
Sudhakar Kar, a noted crocodile researcher and former forest official, said female crocodiles construct nests using mangrove twigs, leaves, and mud on elevated grounds to protect eggs from flood waters. “Only one in 500 eggs in the wild survives to adulthood,” he added.
The park documented 114 nesting sites last year across its creeks, nullahs, and river systems. Bhitarkanika’s conservation success story has seen crocodile numbers surge from 97 in 1974 to current levels, leading to the closure of its 50-year-old artificial breeding programme in Feb 2024.
The park, which holds a Guinness World Record for housing a 23-ft crocodile in 2006, began its conservation journey in 1975 through a UNDP-supported breeding project at Dangamala.
