7-foot-long crocodile rescued from farmland in Urapakkam
In recent days, crocodiles have often been spotted in areas like Sathananthapuram, Alapakkam, and Nedungundram in Perungalathur.
A female sub-adult marsh crocodile, which was captured in the paddy fields of Arungaal village near Urapakkam by the Wildlife Division of Chennai
CHENNAI: The forest department rescued a seven-foot-long crocodile from a farmland in Urapakkam on Friday.
In recent days, crocodiles have often been spotted in areas like Sathananthapuram, Alapakkam, and Nedungundram in Perungalathur. So far, around 20 crocodiles have been caught from Perungalathur and they were sent to Vandalur Zoo and Guindy Children’s Park.
A couple of villagers working on the farm in Karanaipuduchery on Friday around 7 pm spotted a seven-foot crocodile. Shocked villagers alerted the youngsters who reached the spot. Meanwhile, the crocodile moved away and went inside the nearby culvert.
Later the police and the forest officers were alerted and the Tambaram forest officers visited the spot and tied a rope around the crocodile to ensure it didn’t move away from the pond.
Later in the morning, the Velachery forest officers along with the Guindy Children’s Park staff caught the crocodile and shifted it to Guindy.
Wondering what would be the reason for the crocodile presence, the officers pointed out that Hawk and other birds might have picked the newborn tiny crocodiles from the Vandalur zoo and would have dropped them in the lakes near the locality.
However, the horrified villagers requested the forest officers and the panchayat to check the waterbodies in their village and find any other crocodiles living in the water as they frequently encounter crocodiles near the lake and ponds while washing their clothes and fishing.
