Kendrapada: Villagers in Gajarajpur, located near Bhitarkanika National Park in Kendrapada district, captured a six-foot-long female saltwater crocodile on Saturday after it strayed into their village.
The reptile, which had been wandering the area for over two weeks, was later rescued by forest department officials and released into a nearby river.
Chittaranjan Beura, the forest range officer of the Bhitarkanika National Park, said that the crocodile, weighing around 50 kg, might have been swept into the village by high tides from the nearby Barunei Creek.
“Locals spent three hours capturing and roping it before our arrival. Although the crocodile posed a threat to villagers and their farm animals, it did not attack humans and was unharmed during capture. We released the crocodile into the Bausagada river within the park,” added Beura.
Pramod Pradhan, 53, a resident of Gajarajpur village, said that the crocodile was roaming around and ate fish from his pond a few days ago. “We informed the forest officials, but they didn’t respond. So, risking our lives, we captured it ourselves,” added Paramod.
In the past 12 months, eight people have been killed by crocodile attacks in the area, with a total of 24 deaths recorded over the last 28 months.

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