Srikakulam: The crocodiles in the Srisailam tiger reserve forest and even in other parts of India had been victims of poaching by smugglers who exported them illegally to countries abroad. The importers of the crocodiles encouraged smuggling due to their valuable skin. An oil of immense medicinal value is extracted from the scales on the skin and its gall bladder too has medicinal importance, according to K.Thulasi Rao, Assistant conservator of forests, Bio-Diversity and Eco-Management cell, Srisailam.
Mr. Thulasi Rao who was here to participate in an All India Environmentalists Conference during his chat stated that the Central Government had initiated a crocodiles conservation project and several sanctuaries and special crocodile breeding and management centres were set up.
A Central Crocodile Breeding and Management Training Institute was started at Hyderabad. This institute provided training to in-service forest personnel of all states in India.
It was here, Mr. Thulasi Rao said, that he had developed expertise in crocodile breeding and sanctuary management. Shooting of the crocodiles has been banned through an official legislation as part of conservation measures. A four-meter-long skin of a crocodile costs about Rs.8000 and its meat is sold at Rs.50 per kilogram by smugglers. As part of the measures to save the mammal from extinction, hatcheries had been established. The eggs are brought to the hatcheries along with original nest.
The new-born crocodiles are raised in artificial pools and later released into the protected sanctuaries. Mr. Thulasi Rao was instrumental in the release of 2093 crocodiles into several rivers of India. Crocodiles are unisexual and polygamous. Mating occurs in water and lasts about 1-3minutes. Usually mating season is between December and February. Egg laying takes place during March and April. The number of eggs laid by a crocodile depends upon its age and size and varies between 8 and 97. They lay between 8 and 11 eggs during their early years of breeding.
The incubation period is about 60 to 80 days and hatching occurs during June and July.
