Villagers help forest officials rescue 6-ft long crocodile from dry lakebed

It took three days of night patrol and a joint effort by the local villagers who had kept torch lights, nylon ropes and logs ready to trap the reptile. With the lake drying up, the crocodile had crossed a road nearby in search of water, thus giving the villagers an opportunity to trap it.

Forest officials, who visited the water body in last December, had ruled out the presence of crocodiles, but the villagers have been observing the reptile for the past three months. This is the seventh case of crocodile rescue in Kancheepuram district in eight years.

According to sources in the forest department, three crocodiles have been fished out from Sadananthapuram and four from Alapakkam so far. The one rescued on Tuesday animal is a young female and was released at the Guindy Snake Park for quarantine.

“People have been asking us to catch the crocodile and our range officers were looking into the matter. Warning boards were placed, and special drives were conducted to warn the residents not to venture into water body and it helped keep people safe,” city wildlife warden C H Padma told DT Next.

When asked if there will be a detailed action plan to deal with the regular crocodile infestation which is common in summer, Padma said that officials had confirmed the presence of a few more crocodiles in the area. “We suspect two more crocodiles to be present in the region and the issue will be taken up with the chief wildlife warden for further action,” the Chennai wildlife warden said.

But, the local people seem unhappy with the officials on the matter. “Last year, teams from Velachery wildlife rescue headquarters and Tambaram forest range conducted a joint search operation for hours and termed the crocodile sighting as a rumour. They used only binoculars to rule out the possibility of the presence of crocodiles,” said G Ganeshan, who is a member of the village night squad formed to trap the reptile. “The department treated our complaints as a joke. At least from now onwards, the forest department should take our complaints seriously,” he said.

According to 70-year-old N Arumugham, a resident of Nedunkundram, stray crocodiles began to be found in the area only after Vandalur zoo was established. “During my early days here, we would hardly see any crocodiles in local water bodies. The zoo authorities should look into this matter and take preventive measures so that there is no threat to human life,” he said.