Odisha’s Kendrapara now India’s only district to have all 3 species of crocodilians

WHY IN THE NEWS?

Odisha’s Kendrapara became the only district in India to be home to all three species of crocodilians found in the country.

Crocodiles:

1. The crocodilian family consists of 27 different species that are subdivided into three families: True crocodiles, alligators and caimans and gharials.

Which are those three crocodiles found in Odisha’s Kendrapara District?

• Gharials (IUCN Status: Critically Endangered)
• Mugger crocodile 
• Saltwater crocodile 

About Mugger Crocodile:

• Mugger Crocodile is also called marsh crocodile or broad-snouted crocodile. It is an egg-laying and hole-nesting species.
• It is native to freshwater habitats from southern Iran and Pakistan to the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka. 
• IUCN Status: Vulnerable 
• Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule 1
• CITES: Appendix I.
• Threats: a) Habitat destruction, b) Entanglement and drowning in fishing equipment, and c) Increasing incidents of conflict with humans.

About Saltwater Crocodile:

• It is considered the Earth’s largest living crocodile species native to saltwater habitats and brackish wetlands.
• Habitat: It is found throughout the east coast of India, Southeast Asia and northern Australia.
• Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha houses 70% of India’s estuarine crocodiles or saltwater crocodiles.
• IUCN Status: Least Concern
• Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule 1
• Threats: a) Illegal hunting b) habitat loss and c) antipathy toward the species because of its reputation as a man-eater