The Hindu : National : Marsh crocodiles set to fly to Dhaka

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Thursday, Jun 23, 2005

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National

Marsh crocodiles set to fly to Dhaka

R.K.Radhakrishnan

Forty crocodiles have been selected from a group of 2,000; the species appears to be extinct in Bangladesh

— Photo: Shaju John

AWAITING NEW EXPERIENCE: Mugger crocodiles at the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust, Chennai. Forty of them will be sent to Bangladesh on Friday .

CHENNAI: : As many as 40 marsh crocodiles (Crocodylus Palustris) will go on their first aeroplane ride this weekend when they fly from here to Dhaka. The reason: the `mugger' or marsh crocodile appears to be extinct in Bangladesh. "The last female mugger in the Saint Jahan Ali Mazar, Baberhat pond, died in January this year," says the director, Madras Crocodile Bank Trust, Harry V. Andrews.

The last known female `mugger' was injured in a fight with the last remaining male. "This female was laying only infertile eggs since 1988. Pilgrims overfed these holy crocodiles. The veterinarian from the Dhaka zoo visited Baberhat probably just the day before she died," says Mr. Andrews. Though the death has hastened the process of taking the crocodiles, the Crocodile Specialists Group, an international forum of experts, had been at it for more than a year. After a formal request was made by Bangladesh, there were clearances to be obtained from the Zoo Authority of India and the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.

As a first step before the journey, 40 crocodiles, including eight males have been selected from a group of over 2000, weighed and moved to a separate enclosure. They do not need any special acclimatisation since the species is found even in the Himalayas and can withstand temperature fluctuations.

Special plywood boxes with air vents for each reptile have been made to transport them. The bigger crocodiles will have boxes that are a little over three metres long and 75 cm wide. The smaller ones will be transported in boxes 2.7 m long and 50 cm wide. Their mouths will be tied up with rubber bands during the journey that is expected to last under four hours. "Actually it is very easy to transport crocodiles. They are not difficult like tigers or lions," says Mr. Andrews. "They will be in a cool room at the airport which makes them sluggish. In the aircraft too, they will be in air-conditioned environs which makes them inactive."

To be housed in zoo

Once in Dhaka, eight females and two males will be housed at the Dhaka Zoo. The others will be moved to the Endangered Species Breeding Centre of the Wildlife Department. Asked why 40 were being sent, Mr. Andrews said that Bangladesh was equipped to handle only so many. "We could send more if needed."

During the next breeding season, Mr. Andrews and his team will go to Bangladesh. "We have achieved 100 per cent hatching and 100 per cent survival rates here. We want to ensure that we replicate this there," he says.

Mr. Andrews says that a regional meeting is required to review the crocodile status in south Asia. "India must take a lead role in this and help cross border conservation efforts. India's biggest conservation success story is the Indian Crocodile project that started in 1974 when there were less than 100 gharials. Now we have over 1,000 in the wild and several hundreds in captivity," he says.

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