Forest dept mulls croc park near Vadodara

VADODARA: Crocodiles in Vadodara and surrounding region may get a new and safe home in coming years. Concerned over the crocodile-human conflict in Vadodara city and district areas, the forest department is planning to come up with a crocodile park between Vadodara and Jambughoda taluka of Panchmahal district.
Sources in the forest department said that efforts are on to scout for a good location.
“We are considering a location between Vadodara and Jambughoda and the idea is to give crocodiles an ideal environment,” said a forest official. Sources said that the crocodile park project was also discussed with additional chief secretary, forests and environment department, P K Taneja some time ago.
Vadodara and the surrounding region have large number of crocodiles and many often stray out of their habitat during monsoons. When such crocodiles are captured they are usually released in a distant water body but that cannot be a permanent solution as we are just shifting the habitat of the reptile.
“We need a place where such crocodiles can be kept and a crocodile park is an ideal solution,” the official added. The crocodile park will need a water body spread over at least 3 to 4 km as crocodiles are territorial and need spacious place to survive.
A recent crocodile census revealed that the water bodies in Vadodara region have about 450 crocodiles. Vishwamitri river that flows through the heart of the city is home to over 260 crocodiles alone. During floods last year, many crocodiles strayed out of their habitat and were found strolling on the roads in the city and rural areas too. The Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) has also been mulling to build a crocodile park in Vishwamitri River over years but nothing concrete has happened.