This story is from April 19, 2021

Have crocodiles made Tapi their homes in Surat?

Have crocodiles made Tapi their homes in Surat?
Crocodiles have been sighted at reliance Hazira, ABP Shipyard, ONGC Bridge in Magdalla and Variyav among others areas close to Tapi River
Surat: After Vadodara's Vishwamitri, crocodiles seem to have made Surat’s Tapi River their new home in the last few years. With the number of crocodile sightings on the rise in and around Tapi, city-based Nature Club Surat along with Wildlife Trust of India and Forest Department has started a new capacity building project to mitigate the human-crocodile conflict in the city.
The group also plans to carry out a population estimation exercise in near future.
“In the last two years, around five to six crocodiles have been rescued from Tapi river banks. The sightings of the reptiles are increasing by the day. Though no untoward incident of human-crocodile conflict has been reported so far we want to prepare a database of the crocodiles. It will help us in carrying out various awareness activities and also in the conservation programmes. Next week, we are going to organize an online rescue training programme for volunteers on how to rescue crocodiles,” said Krunal Trivedi the coordinator of the project.
“Once the Covid-19 situation becomes normal, we will organise hands-on training in association with the Surat zoo,” he added.
According to Trivedi, crocodiles have been sighted at reliance Hazira, ABP Shipyard, ONGC Bridge in Magdalla, and Variyav among others areas close to Tapi River. Crocodile sightings near human habitations have gone up considerably, thus increasing the chances of human-crocodile conflict. At present the situation is not so grave in Surat but with the increase in the number of crocodiles, chances of friction between the reptiles and humans can’t be ruled out in future. In this project we will conduct a survey for crocodile presence and identify the potential human-crocodile conflict area.” Trivedi added.
“We are already in touch with fishermen who operate along the Tapi. They often provide us information about crocodile sightings. We have also asked citizens to inform us if they spot a crocodile,” Trivedi said.
Though an exact figure of the crocodile population is not available, according estimates, there could be over 20 crocodiles living in their natural habitat in and around Surat city.
“Prior to the 2006 floods, there were no records of sighting or rescue of crocodiles in Surat city. But in the last few years, their numbers have gone up. So we need to study the issue for long term conservation of the reptiles,” Snehal Patel, President of Nature Club Surat.
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