Bhitarkanika park reopens

Kendrapada: Bhitarkanika National Park in Kendrapada district reopened to tourists on Saturday after remaining closed for three months for the annual crocodile nesting season, with authorities enforcing a complete ban on plastics.

The national park, which remained shut from May 1 to July 31 to facilitate undisturbed nesting and breeding of estuarine crocodiles, reopened to day visitors as well as overnight guests at forest rest houses and eco-tourism cottages, officials of the Rajnagar Mangrove (Wildlife) Forest Division said. Accommodation facilities are available at Dangamala, Agaranasi, Habalikothi, Gupti and Eakakula, and bookings can be made online. Visitors will not be allowed to carry polythene bags, single-use plastic items or plastic bottles into the park to protect the fragile mangrove ecosystem, officials said.

The annual closure is imposed during the crocodile nesting season as the reptiles become highly protective and aggressive while guarding their nests. Boat cruises through the park’s extensive mangrove creeks remain its biggest attraction, drawing around 350 to 400 tourists on an average day.

Bhitarkanika is home to nearly 70 per cent of India’s estuarine (saltwater) crocodile population. The crocodile conservation programme, launched in 1975, is regarded as one of the country’s most successful wildlife conservation initiatives. Besides crocodiles, the park supports a rich diversity of wildlife, including leopards, wild boars, jungle cats, fishing cats, hyenas, sambars, striped palm squirrels and Gangetic dolphins, officials said.

Its reptile fauna includes Olive Ridley sea turtles, pythons, king cobras, water monitors and several other turtle species, while around 166 species of birds have been recorded in the park. One of India’s richest mangrove ecosystems, Bhitarkanika is also home to 11 globally threatened mangrove species.