The Bhitarkanika National Park in Kendrapara district will remain closed for visitors from May 1 to July 31 in view of the breeding season of estuarine or saltwater crocodiles, informed Bimal Prasanna Acharya, Bhitarkanika Divisional Forest Officer.
Visitors would be barred from entering Bhitarkanika, Dangamala and Ragadapati forest blocks during the period.
Notably, the national park remains closed for visitors for three months every year as the crocodiles become very aggressive during their breeding season and attack people even without provocation. The park is home to around 1,698 estuarine crocodiles. Every year, forest officials collect eggs from the nesting sites for incubation under semi-natural conditions. For the conservation of the endangered species, the hatchlings are reared for a period of three years and then released into the wild.
