Kendrapara, Dec 28 (PTI) The Bhitarkanika national park in Odisha's Kendrapara district will remain closed for visitors for ten days from January 2 for the annual census of estuarine crocodiles.

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Twenty-two teams deployed for the exercise will count the crocodiles in creeks, ‘nullahs', and rivers within the park and its nearby areas, Divisional Forest Officer J D Pati said.

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The basic purpose behind the closure of the national park is to avoid human interference during the census operation, the DFO said.

The national park is home to 70 per cent of India's estuarine crocodiles or saltwater crocodiles, conservation of which started in 1975.

As per the headcount of the reptiles in 2021, there are 1,768 saltwater crocodiles in the national park.

Adequate conservation measures by the forest department have led to a systematic rise in the number of crocodiles over the years, forest officials said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)