By Manoj Kar
Kendrapara, Dec 2: In a violent reaction to reign of terror unleashed by furious estuarine crocs, residents living on the fringes of Bhitarkanika wildlife sanctuary have allegedly hacked to death a rogue adult male crocodile.

Crocs continue to go berserk either killing or maiming humans at will igniting fresh bouts of man-animal conflict in human settlements in villages in close proximity of this wildlife sanctuary.

Bloated body of a seven-feet-long male crocodile was retrieved from a creek near sanctuary-side Krusnanagar village. The reptile's body which bore multiple injury mark has been sent for post mortem, said forest officials on Tuesday.

Forest officials believe that locals trapped the croc by fishing net and later killed it sharp spear-like object. It might be a retaliatory assault by locals as the croc was often straying into water bodies in the village areas eating up cattle.

“The croc death is being investigated. We are waiting for autopsy report for registering cases against suspected culprits,” added forest officials.

While the ongoing conflict has resulted in a couple of human casualties in recent past, 27 villagers were injured as crocs pounced on them since past one year.

With saltwater crocodiles constantly on the prowl in the peripheral villages of the wildlife sanctuary, villagers are living under lurking threat from these man-eating reptiles.

While the crocs on rampage continue to be on the killing spree, the plight of the bereaved families has got compounded in the gross absence ex-gratia compensation package award by the state forest department.

The tricky issue has triggered a major socio-economic problem in these perennially backward areas, according to PRI members.

The government flush with funds is intent on conserving the crocodiles. Three decades back, the estuarine crocs were threatened in the Bhitarkanika territorial limits. But the scenario has brightened up now with over 1500 reptiles crowding the water bodies here.

As it has mostly been found, local settlers trespass into croc-infested prohibited water bodies for fishing. In the process, they not only break law but also expose themselves to the preying crocs, forest officials argue.

The crocs mostly stray into villages during either in rainy season or during flood. Besides, high tides during low-pressure formation prompt the crocs to stray.

The census figure of crocs has been constantly on the upward swing. As the habitation corridor of estuarine crocs is getting squeezed over the years, the animals often stray into water bodies and rivers connected to the water channels of Bhitarkanika.

The latest official census put the number of saltwater crocs at 1498 inhabiting along the innumerable nullahs and water-inlets within the sanctuary limits.

The census figure is believed to be on the lower side. On the other hand, it is being widely believed that over 2000 crocs crowd the Bhitarkanika water bodies.

Habitation corridor of crocs is getting decimated following boom in their population. As a result, the reptiles encounter shortage of food. Unlawful fishing in prohibited sanctuary areas also greatly exhausts the crocs' food reserve.