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November 28, 2009 | Wildlife Park in Chhattisgarh segregates aggressive crocodiles | Kotmi Sonar (Chhattisgarh): A large natural tank has been turned into a crocodile park
near Champa village in Janjgir district to save the villagers from being attacked by these amphibian creatures as well as protect them from being endangered species. The crocodile park in the Kotmi Sonar range
houses nearly 150 crocodiles picked up from various village ponds in the vicinity.
The park with a steel fencing was developed with a sole motive, to stop the crocodile
menace in the village. The crocodiles attacked the villagers whenever they came
near the ponds, once they found that their natural prey had reduced. A couple
of villagers lost their lives and several others got injured. To stop this threat,
the village Panchayats through the assistance of State's Conservator of Forests
decided to house all the crocodiles in a separate vast lake. "We had almost sixty
to seventy crocodiles here in the pond near our village and they used to feed
on fish from the pond. But gradually with the development, increase in the needs
of people, the fish almost vanished from the ponds. So these hungry crocodiles
started attacking the villagers. Around four people have lost their lives till
now. One person lost his leg, one lost his hand and many were injured. Keeping
all this in mind, villagers decided to keep all these crocodiles at one place
so that even the crocodiles are safe and the villagers also feel safe," said Pradip
Soni, Pradhan of Champa Panchayat. According to the Conservator of Forests, Kotmi
Sonar Range , the crocodiles now live under natural surroundings at an exclusive
large pond and they hunt for their food within the vicinity of their new 'home'
that was set up in 2008. This lake has now become a novel crocodile park and tourists
visit the place to watch the alligators. "All the crocodiles in Kotmi Sonar, which
have been brought from the nearby ponds in the village, are living in a natural
environment. They reproduce and lay eggs there only. Every thing they do here
is in a natural environment and nothing is artificial," said Debashish Bannerjee,
District Forest Officer, Janjgir- Champa. |
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