MUMBAI: A 9-foot-long crocodile was rescued from the premises of a housing society in Mulund (west) early Sunday. The female crocodile was spotted by security guards, sitting immobile behind a row of potted plants around 5.30 am.
The plant pots are placed along a drain that runs alongside the periphery of the premises. The crocodile was crouched in between the pots and the drain, said Kunal Thakkar, a volunteer with Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare (RAWW) which helped in the rescue operation of the crocodile along with officials from the state forest department. “The crocodile was huge... It had spotted the presence of people around and refused to move... it reacted only if someone moved close to it,” said Thakkar.
The first step to the rescue was to throw a piece of cloth over its eyes. “This was done so that the crocodile does not get stressed at the sight of the happenings around,” said Thakkar who inched closer to the reptile with his colleague Joaquim Naik. It was rescued with the help of a grasper within 20 minutes.
The crocodile was then taken to the vet’s where Dr Priti Sathe and Dr Kirti Sathe examined it and certified it to be fit for release, said Pawan Sharma, president of RAWW.
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