Floods bring crocodiles to Vadodara streets, seven rescued

Rains have given respite to Vadodara city in central Gujarat after an unprecedented downpour two days ago, but the authorities are now facing the task of capturing crocodiles which arrived with floodwaters. Seven mid-sized crocodiles which swam into the city as the Vishwamitri river overflowed have been captured by forest department's teams from areas such as Raj Mahal Road and Fatehgunj which are on the riverbank.

Three crocodiles were captured on Thursday and four on Friday, Assistant Conservator of Forest Vinod Damor, who is in charge of rescue of stranded crocodiles, said. "The stretch of Vishwamitri passing through the city is home to around 150 crocodiles. Some of them entered residential areas after water from the river flooded the city," he said.

"We have formed six teams to capture them," he said. Each team comprises a forest department personnel and three volunteers with experience of animal rescue.

Many city residents uploaded videos of crocodiles on innundated streets on social media. One video showed a mid-sized crocodile sneaking up on a dog and attacking it. The dog, however, escaped unhurt.

"Crocodiles in the Vishwamitri are not known to attack dogs or people normally. In the video it appears that the dog was too close and the crocodile just wanted to give it a warning," Damor said. "Crocodiles in this river can grow up to 10 feet in length. But the crocodiles we have captured so far were less than five feet in length," he added.

Apart from crocodiles, forest teams also rescued two turtles and a few snakes from residential areas in the last two days..

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