Kendrapara (Odisha), Sept 20 (PTI) An eight-foot-long estuarine crocodile that had strayed into a community pond, was caught alive by forest personnel in Odisha's Kendrapara district on Monday and later released into the Baunsagadi rivulet, a forest department official said.

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The crocodile had sneaked into the pond at Vektakola village under Rajnagar tehsil to eat fish and other aquatic specie when a fisherman sighted it and raised alarm, he said.

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The scared villagers informed the forest personnel who rescued it in a swift operation, the official said.

"We are relieved as the crocodile has been taken away from the pond. We were frightened to see it in the water," said Manmath Ray, a local.

The forest department said that crocodiles stray into the villages of the area in search of food. However, they often leave for their original habitat within a few days as per their natural instinct.

Lethal attacks by such reptiles and consequent retaliatory attacks by humans has become a regular feature in this area of the state. Most often the mishaps occur when people intrude into the reptile's habitat for illegal fishing, poaching or to collect fuel wood and honey.

The conflict and consequent loss of human lives are most frequently recorded during the monsoon and winter months, the nesting season of the estuarine crocodiles.

The salt water crocodile population at Bhitarkanika in the northern part of Kendrapara district has increased manifold from 96 in 1975 to 1768 so far, the forest department official 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)