Mumbai: Crocodile Rescued From Electricity Duct at Aarey Metro Complex
A 3-foot-7-inch sub-adult Indian marsh crocodile was safely rescued from an 8-foot-deep electricity duct at the Aarey Metro complex in Goregaon East on Wednesday. Following an alert from security staff, the Wildlife Welfare Association and Mumbai Forest Department retrieved the reptile. Found fit by a veterinarian, the crocodile will be returned to the wild.
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A sub-adult Indian marsh crocodile measuring around 3 feet 7 inches was rescued from an electricity duct inside the Aarey Metro construction complex of the Aqua Line in Goregaon East during the early hours of Wednesday, September 23. The reptile had slipped into an underground duct on the site premises before security personnel and wildlife volunteers managed to extricate it unharmed during an overnight operation.
The incident comes roughly a month after a viral video surfaced showing a similar-sized sub-adult marsh crocodile crossing the Aarey road near the Tapeshwar temple and metro carshed area, Mid Day reported. Although forest and wildlife teams had carried out extensive search operations following that initial sighting, the animal had eluded rescue teams until its discovery inside the infrastructure facility early Wednesday. Mumbai: Crocodile Spotted in Powai, Safely Rescued After Alert (Watch Videos).
Crocodile Rescued in Mumbai: Midnight Distress Call and Safe Extraction
At around 12:05 a.m. on September 23, the Wildlife Welfare Association (WWA) received an emergency call on its wildlife rescue helpline regarding a crocodile spotted inside the Aarey Metro complex. A quick-response rescue team was dispatched to the location immediately.
According to Maharashtra Security Force (MSF) personnel deployed at the facility, the reptile was initially observed moving through open ground inside the perimeter before it entered an open electricity trench. The WWA team tracked the sub-adult animal inside the roughly 8-foot-deep duct and safely extracted it using specialised equipment without causing any distress or physical injury. Bahraich Crocodile Attack: 55-Year-Old Woman Killed, Body Recovered From Saryu River.
“The crocodile was safely rescued and will be released back into its natural habitat after medical examination,” a WWA volunteer said.
Medical Evaluation and Release Plan
Following the extraction, the Mumbai Range Forest Department was formally apprised of the rescue, and the animal was shifted to the WWA Transit Centre for observation and health monitoring.
Veterinary surgeon Dr. Charier conducted a medical examination and declared the reptile completely healthy and fit for release into the wild. Officials from the forest department and wildlife volunteers are coordinating the required logistical protocols to release the crocodile into a designated freshwater habitat away from human settlements.
Ecological Profile of the Mugger Crocodile
The Indian marsh crocodile (Crocodylus palustris), commonly known as the mugger, is a freshwater reptile native to the Indian subcontinent. Found across India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, as well as peripheral regions of Iran and Myanmar, the species primarily inhabits rivers, lakes, ponds, marshes, hill streams, and man-made reservoirs. Unlike the saltwater crocodile, it generally avoids saline conditions.
The species serves as a top predator and keystone species in freshwater ecosystems, playing a critical ecological role in maintaining biodiversity and the health of inland aquatic food webs. Over recent decades, mugger populations across parts of the subcontinent have faced stress from habitat loss, poaching, prey depletion, and urban encroachment—factors that increasingly drive human-wildlife encounters near protected corridors like Aarey Colony.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 23, 2026 04:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
