However, due to increasing human activity in the river, mining of riverine materials, pollution, etc., crocodiles are becoming unsafe in their natural habitat.
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Over the past 45 years, 2,315 crocodiles raised at the Gharial Crocodile Breeding Center in Chitwan National Park have been released into the river. According to the center, these crocodiles have been released into 8 different rivers since 1981.
According to the center, the highest number of crocodiles, 1,560, has been released into the Rapti River during this period. The park administration has stated that 225 crocodiles have been released in the current fiscal year alone. Of these, 14 are males and 211 are females.
According to the park's information officer, Avinash Thapa Magar, 419 crocodiles raised at the center have been released into the Narayani River, 115 into the Saptakoshi River, 110 into Babahi River, 41 into Karnali River, 35 into Kaligandaki River, 25 into Chaudhara River in Shuklaphanta, and 10 into Rapti River in Banke.
This year, the most crocodiles have been released into the river. The crocodiles hatched from eggs collected in 2021 and 2022 were released this year. Although crocodiles are released every year, the number of crocodiles found during the census has not increased. Last year, only 366 crocodiles were found during the census in the Rapti and Narayani rivers.
There are currently 500 crocodiles in the breeding center. 146 babies have been hatched from 196 eggs collected this year. The Gharial crocodile is an endangered reptile.
The Gharial, which was previously found in countries including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Myanmar, is now found only in Nepal and India. In the 1940s, its number was estimated to be around 10,000 worldwide. Conservationists say that interest in conservation has increased since only two percent of its population was found to exist in 1970.
A gharial breeding center was established in Kasara in 1975 after the establishment of Chitwan National Park. At that time, there were less than a hundred gharial crocodiles in the country. Thapa Magar said that crocodiles are becoming unsafe in their natural habitat due to increasing human activity in the river, riverine mining, pollution, etc.
