Madras Crocodile Bank Trust keen to collaborate with Telangana to conserve crocodiles

A two-member team from the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust and Centre for Herpetology, Tamil Nadu, visited the Shivaram crocodile sanctuary in Jainoor mandal, Mancherial district, to explore collaboration with the Forest Department. The team assessed living conditions and expressed interest in future conservation efforts.

Mancherial: A two-member team from the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust and Centre for Herpetology, Tamil Nadu, expressed willingness to collaborate with the Forest department to conserve crocodiles in the district.

The team, along with Forest officials, visited the crocodile wildlife sanctuary at Shivvaram village in Jaipoor mandal on Saturday.

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Dr Shafeeq Ahmed, an assistant director and scientist at the centre, and Ganesh Muthaiah, a trustee, assessed living conditions at the sanctuary during a field visit. They said they were keen to work with the Forest department on future conservation of the alligators.

They remarked that the sanctuary offered a conducive habitat and said they were impressed by the sightings of otters and endangered bird species.

Forest officials said around 20 crocodiles were sighted during the visit, which delighted the scientists. They added that a meeting would be convened with the centre’s representatives to devise strategies for protecting the crocodiles and developing ecotourism projects at the sanctuary in the near future. In charge Chennur FRO Sudhakar and staff of the department participated in the visit.

Officials said the sanctuary is currently inhabited by about 100 freshwater or marsh crocodiles. Crocodiles were first recorded at the site in 1978, following which the sanctuary was created, covering an area of 36.29 square kilometres.