A seven-foot-long male marsh crocodile was rescued from the premises of Suraj Water Park in Thane. The crocodile was spotted by the staff of the park around 5 am on Thursday and soon after the authorities got in touch with the NGO Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare (RAWW) helpline and the forest department.
A seven-member rescue team was assigned after confirming the sighting and the park was closed. Wildlife activists Joaquim Naik, Aman Singh, Omsi Para, Anil Bhalerao, Ritik Jaiswal, Ajay Kanojiya and Pawan Sharma reached the spot, evaluated the situation and safely rescued the reptile in 30 minutes under the supervision of the forest department and coordination with Narendra Muthe, the range forest officer.
The crocodile was then taken to Sanjay Gandhi National Park where it was medically examined by the park’s veterinary surgeon Dr Shailesh Pethe, and declared active and fit to be released back to its natural habitat of Tulsi lake after tagging.
The RAWW team will be surveying and studying the area of rescue and examination to understand the route and reason of displacement.