Uttarakhand: Crocodile rescued from a gutter in Mudeli Village

Uttarakhand’s forest department officials on June 25 rescued a crocodile from a gutter at the Mudeli Village. While speaking to ANI, the village head, Sukhwinder Singh said that he was informed by the villagers that the reptile was spotted by a child while playing with the ball which fell into the gutter. 

Singh said, "When the child tried to get the ball from the gutter, the crocodile attacked him and the child sustained a few bruises on the hand. We called the forest officials to rescue the crocodile”. 

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The forest officials reportedly said that the crocodile was ‘rescued’ the village in Khatima. The officials reached the site as soon as they received that information. Furthermore, they also informed that the reptile will be released at a ‘safe place’. 

Officer Dan Singh said, "As soon as we received information of a crocodile being trapped here, we reached the spot. The crocodile will be released at a safe place”. 

READ: Vadodara: Crocodile Rescued From Village After Three-day Long Operation

Drone-based crocodile counting 

Crocodiles in Uttarakhand are usually found in Terai region which includes Corbett Tiger Reserve, Udham Singh Nagar, parts of Haridwar district and Lansdowne forest division. In a first in the country, back in January, the forest department of the region also announced that the officials will be using drones for crocodile census. 

While speaking to a media outlet, Parag Madhukar Dhakate, coordinator of the drone force and chief conservator of forests (CCF), western circle, Kumaon, said that the officials are formalising a protocol for drone-based crocodilian census, which will be an efficient and non-invasive way of counting the reptiles. The new system, with the help of 12 drones, will help in surveillance and monitoring of the state’s wildlife, especially in the context of threats to wildlife and the environment. 

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