World Crocodile Day 2024:
World Crocodile Day is celebrated on 17th June. The day is a global awareness campaign to highlight the plight of endangered crocodiles and alligators around the world.
- The Crocodile Conservation Project was initiated by the United Nations and the Government of India, shortly after the passage of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
- The primary objectives were to protect natural habitats, boost crocodile populations through captive breeding, and address the low survival rates of hatchlings in the wild.
- The project set up breeding and rearing centers at 34 sites in India, including Bhitarkanika, to protect and revive the country’s endangered crocodilian population, particularly focusing on estuarine or saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus).
- The saltwater crocodile population in Bhitarkanika has significantly increased from 95 individuals in 1975 to 1,811 as of the latest reptile census report (2023).
- The saltwater crocodile is now found in three primary locations in India: Bhitarkanika, the Sundarbans, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
