The residents of the quiet and quaint village of Nagla Amaan located in Uttar Pradesh’s Firozabad district were in for a shock when they discovered a 7-foot-long Mugger crocodile wandering in their area.
The incident that happened last weekend caused a panic among the people and they immediately reached out to the State Forest Department officials. While a team of officials left for the spot, the non-governmental organisation Wildlife SOS was also alerted for assistance in the rescue operation.
The NGO rushed a four-member team who travelled 120 km in the night to reach the location. On reaching the spot, they swung into action to prepare the necessary gear for the rescue while the forest officers managed the crowd gathered there. The crocodile was finally lured into a trap cage and was released near Jasrana in a suitable habitat.
The entire operation took more than 4 hours to complete.
Sharing details about this incident, Surendra Kumar Saswat, Range Forest Officer, Jasrana said: “We got the call from the villagers after they spotted the crocodile on land. We reached immediately with a team of six officers and also informed Wildlife SOS. After the rescue was completed, we released the crocodile in a nearby water body that has a flourishing crocodile population.”
Kartick Satyanarayan, CEO of Wildlife SOS praised the villagers and said that without their cooperation the operation wouldn’t have been possible.
