The Forest personnel of the Bhitarkanika National Park have collected as many as 68 estuarine crocodile eggs to hatch them at artificial hatchery, the Dangamala Crocodile Research Centre.
According to Rajnagar Mangrove Forest and Wildlife Division DFO Kedar Kumar Swain, the eggs were collected from the wild nests that were lying vulnerable due to tidal erosion.
Every year, the Forest personnel collect some eggs from the wild nests and get them incubated in captivity under semi-natural conditions. The hatchlings are reared for 3 years and then released into the wild. By way of ‘rear and release’ technique, the baby crocodiles after birth are released in the wild as a part of conservation programme of these endangered species, he informed.