Crocodile preservation in india
nlok...@gmail.com
related to dinosaurs and has survived the changes that have occurred
in the world. Crocodiles are found in many continents including Asia,
America, Australia and Africa. (Incidentally all the continents with
A are the continents where crocodiles live even today).
India is the home for all the three types of crocodiles Mugger, Salt
water crocodiles and the Gharials.
Gharials ( Gavialis gangeticus) is found in India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal etc and as the name suggests it is found in
the river Ganges. It is a big one and grows to about 22 feet and has a
large head with a narrow snout at the top of which is a ball like
organ. With the narrow snout it cannot catch big preys and normally
eats fish, frogs and small aquatic animals and birds. In India many
Zoos have breeding centers for gharials and Madras crocodile park is
one such where gharials are bred in captivity for quite some time. It
was having Mr. Romulus Whitaker as director and he did exemplary work
for the conservation of both crocodiles and snakes. Gharials have
found protected or captive breeding to their liking and have
multiplied many folds wherever they were bred. Their skin has very
good value in the international market and are butchered and poached
upon for their skin.
Saltwater crocodiles Crocodylus porosus) ( are found in the wild in
north eastern costal regions of India and in the Andaman - Nicobar
Islands. It is also known as INDOPACIFIC crocodile and is found in
Asia and pacific regions. In the Indian Andaman they are found
everywhere and still survives since these are sparsely populated.
These crocodiles are quite big and are also very aggressive and attack
even humans, if disturbed. They are also aggressive defenders of their
territories and will attack other crocodiles and even humans and hence
their breeding is a problematic one. They are the bigger of the all
the three and grow up to 25 feet and could weigh up to about 1000 Kilo
grammas. Its hide fetches the highest price and hence it is any
poacher's delight.
Mugger.( Crocodylus palustris) is a crocodile which survives anywhere
and everywhere happily and can be bred without any problem unlike the
salt water crocodile which because of its territorial integrity, is
difficult to raise in captivity. It is also known as marsh crocodile
is found in India, Pakistan,Nepal and Bangladesh and it seems it is
already extinct in Myanmar and Bangladesh. It lives in fresh water
lakes and rivers and is the smallest of all the three we have seen.
It can grow up to a length of 15 feet and can eat small mammals, deer
and buffaloes.
All over the world preservation of crocodiles are taken up and the
crocodiles which are living in the world even before man has evolved
being brought back into the world to share the platform with human at
least in captivity. Many Zoos and wild life preservation organizations
in India similar to the Madras Crocodile bank, madras Snake park,
Bhitarkanika National Park in Orissa, Nehru Zoological park, Delhi,
Mysore Zoo and Jaipur Zoo have done pioneering work in the crocodile
protection and preservation work in India and the neighbouring
countries.
Why we have to preserve the crocodiles? If somebody asks such a
question what could be the answer. First and far most nobody has the
right to kill and eliminate another species of animals. God or nature
has created each species for a purpose and has a place in the ecology
and place in the animal kingdom.
Also crocodiles play a vital role in eliminating some species of fish
which are harmful to other fish and animals. Also it is a scavenger
and eats dead animals and corpses. It also checks the animal's
population and kills them when hey come to drink water. Also when they
are small and babies are killed by other animals and become food for
others as babies and eggs. Most of the babies and eggs are eaten or
destroyed and hence their population has dwindled and became extinct
in many countries. The expensive hide of the crocodile is also one
reason for their population to diminish.
But because of the preservation efforts taken many of the crocodiles
are now able to survive in Indian zoos and Crocodile banks where they
are captive bred and once grown left in forests, dams and rivers so
that they continue to live so that our next generation can have a
glimpse of this species which has survived for so many millions of
years without any change in their shape or size.