Tourist entry suspended at Bhitarkanika National Park in Kendrapara from Jan 8 for crocodile census

Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha’s Kendrapara district will remain closed to tourists for three days from January 8 to January 10 to facilitate the annual crocodile census, forest officials said.

As part of the yearly exercise, the census will be conducted across the rivers and creeks of Bhitarkanika to count saltwater crocodiles and assess their population status. The survey aims to monitor population health, evaluate conservation success, understand habitat usage, and formulate effective management strategies for the species.

Ahead of the census, training and orientation sessions were conducted for census personnel on Wednesday. Trained teams will be deployed from Thursday to carry out the systematic counting exercise.

During the survey period, movement of boats on rivers and creeks will remain restricted, prompting authorities to suspend tourist entry into the national park. Bhitarkanika has been conducting crocodile census operations regularly since 1976. However, unlike previous years, officials plan to complete the census within three days this time.

Forest officials said improved planning and a streamlined approach are expected to ensure accurate data collection within a shorter time frame. Tourist activities will resume after the completion of the census.

Forest Range Officer Bharadaraj Gaonkar said the annual crocodile estimation exercise would begin with field surveys from January 8 to January 10, followed by data compilation and documentation on January 11 and 12, after which the findings will be submitted to higher authorities.