Villagers Rescue Six-Foot Crocodile from Community Pond in Odisha

A six-foot-long saltwater crocodile was rescued from a community pond in Gajarajpur village, near Bhitarkanika National Park, Odisha. Residents captured the crocodile after a three-hour effort and reported that forest officials had been unresponsive to their earlier alerts. The crocodile was safely relocated to the wild.

A six-foot-long saltwater crocodile was rescued from a community pond in Gajarajpur village near Bhitarkanika National Park, Odisha, according to forest officials.

Residents undertook a gruelling three-hour exercise to net the crocodile after waiting a fortnight for forest officials to respond to their calls.

Pramod Pradhan, a 53-year-old villager, said residents were forced to risk their lives as forest officials ignored their pleas. Forest Range Officer Chittaranjan Beura confirmed the crocodile likely strayed during high tide and was later released into the wild unharmed. Bhitarkanika's saltwater crocodile population has surged from 96 in 1975 to 1,811 today.

(With inputs from agencies.)