The Department of Forest in Khulna on Wednesday released two satellite-tagged saltwater crocodiles in Bhadra River in the Sundarbans.
“Juliete”, a bull (male) crocodile, collected from Karamzal Eco-Tourism Center of Sundarbans and “Modhu”, a sow (female) crocodile, seized from the River Sagardari, adjacent to noted poet Michel Modhusudan Dutta’s ancestral home, in Jashore, were released in the Bhadra river, adjacent to Bhadra Patrol Post, in West Sundarbans on Wednesday afternoon, Dr Abu Naser Mohsin Hossain, Divisional Forest Officer(DFO) of Sundarban West Forest Division in Khulna told BSS today.
“This is the first time in the history of Sundarbans, Bangladesh Forest Department is running this historic pursuit with the technical collaboration of the International Union for Conservation of Nature( IUCN) and GiZ, a German organization,” he said.
The main objective of this assignment is to build capacity of the Bangladesh Forest Department officials in safely capturing and satellite tagging saltwater crocodiles in Sundarbans.
A total of five saltwater crocodiles (three from captivity, and two from the wild) from the Sundarbans will be tagged to understand their movement, identification of nesting hotspots, ecology, mortality rate, habitat use, and collect data on possible human-crocodile conflicts.
Two Australian crocodile experts Dr. Ruchira Somaweera, Practice Lead for Ecology, Murdoch University, and Paul Beri, Principal Ranger, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Services, Australia, have been engaged to assist in conducting these activities and provide training to Forest Department officials, he added.