Man-animal conflict: Croc kills Odisha fisherman
Bhubaneswar, Mar 11 (UNI) In the latest instance of human-croc conflict, a furious saltwater crocodile killed a 48-year-old fisherman at a village on the fringes of Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha’s Kendrapara district, with forest and fire brigade personnel retrieving the maimed body from the river.
The incident took place at Baulakani village under the Mahakalpada forest range when the inland fisherman Deba Kumar Mandal was dragged to the water by a crocodile when he had entered the water to spread out the fishing net.
Though the incident occurred outside the national park limits, the deceased fisherman’s family would be covered under an ex gratia compensation payment scheme after the medico-legal formalities of the postmortem report, said Varadaraj Gaonkar, Divisional Forest Officer, Rajnagar Mangrove (wildlife) Forest Division.
As per the revised ex-gratia compensation for human fatalities arising out of conflict with wild animals, the forest department will provide a compensation amount of Rs 10 lakh to the bereaved family after the completion of medico-legal formalities, said the forest officer.
The human-croc conflict occurring in the areas in close proximity to the national park at periodic intervals has resulted in the loss of four human lives in the last 12 months.
The Bhitarkanika National Park is home to 1,858 saltwater crocodiles in its water bodies and river system, which is the highest in India.
No crocodile death has been reported in the last year, said DFO Gaonkar.
The conflict and consequent loss of human lives are mostly reported during the monsoon and winter months, the nesting season of the estuarine crocodiles.
The adult crocodiles usually do not leave their territory to chase human beings on land, unlike terrestrial predatory animals, such as tigers.
The mishap of this nature occurs due to human intrusion into the crocs’ habitat, for fishing, poaching, fuel-wood and honey collection.
The animals, in the wake of depleted food reserves in the river system, stray into nearby rivulets and nullahs.
With the water bodies located in the vicinity of human settlements, the crocodiles attack humans who fish in ‘troubled waters’.
