Chitwan National Park has data showing that 199 animals were rescued in the four months from Shrawan to Kartik, the largest number of which are crocodiles.
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It is not new for wild animals like elephants, rhinoceroses, and tigers to enter settlements near the park. While wild boars, chitals, and monkeys have been frequenting the farmlands, in recent years, reptiles like Magar crocodiles, pythons, and goman snakes have also started entering settlements near the park. Most of the reptiles rescued by Chitwan National Park in recent times are
Vimala Bote's house is located on the banks of the Rapti River, which flows through the border of the park. Last Friday night, she had a close encounter with a Magar crocodile at home. Her mud house is about 300 meters away from the river. The Magar crocodile came to the hut where her three-year-old daughter and husband Vishal live.
'Nanda's wedding was on. The previous evening, we went to work at Nanda's house, which is a short distance from our house. We rushed to bed at 10 pm because we had to come back the next morning,' said Vimala. Her husband Vishal works as a laborer in the village. That day, he had gone to work on rice and straw.
Due to exhaustion, Bimala did not find Vishal sleeping. But she was unable to fall asleep because of a sound. 'I could not sleep because of the sound of something crawling and crawling,' said Vimala. There was a small hut next to the house where they were sleeping. She turned on her mobile phone to see if something was going on. ‘When I went there around 12 midnight, I saw a Magar crocodile,’ said Bimala. ‘It was a big Magar crocodile. What did I do when I got scared?’
Bimala, who is from Ramechhap, had seen a Magar crocodile so close for the first time. Bimala’s husband immediately informed Pradeep Bote, the district president of Nepal Bote Society, and the park. It was 1:30 am when the news of the crocodile entering the village reached the park. Even though the rescue team reached within half an hour, the crocodile had already headed towards the river.
The Chitwan National Park team is currently struggling to rescue the Magar crocodile. According to Conservation Officer Avinash Thapa Magar, who is the information officer of Chitwan National Park, 199 animals have been rescued in the four months from last Shrawan to Kartik. The largest number of them are Magar crocodiles.
Information Officer Thapa Magar said that 129 Magar crocodiles have been rescued in four months. After Magar crocodiles, the number of other animals rescued is higher than that of pythons. The park team has rescued 52 pythons during this period. After that, two royal crocodiles and four gomans, nine snakes and six turtles have been rescued. There are one monkey, one chital and one other animal each. Thus, the largest number of animals rescued by the park are reptiles.
Two types of crocodiles are found around Chitwan National Park. The Gharial crocodile is a very rare animal. The Gharial, which lives only in clean flowing water and eats fish, is relatively calm in nature. The Magar crocodile also eats other large animals. There has also been an incident where a Magar crocodile killed a person during a fight in a river. ‘In particular, Magar crocodiles have reached fish ponds and chicken coops and eaten fish and chicken,’ said Information Officer Thapa Magar of the park.
The park has also rescued Magar crocodiles from hotels. Pythons often have to be rescued from chicken coops. Magar crocodiles have been found to reach 2/3 kilometers away from river ponds. Park officials have experience that rescuing Magar crocodiles is difficult. "Good nets and skills are required to rescue them. We are making arrangements for that. It seems that the locals should also be aware. Its attacks are deadly. The locals should also be explained how to protect themselves," said Conservation Officer Thapa Magar.
