Five saltwater crocodiles have died in and around Bhitarkanika National Park in less than a month, taking the reported toll from unnatural deaths to 22 in six years and 44 in 14 years .
Conservationist Sudhakar Kar has attributed the deaths to inadequate protection and illegal fishing nets, which can trap crocodiles and cause them to drown.
Bhitarkanika's crocodile population has recovered from an estimated 95 in 1975 to 1,858 in January 2026
A female saltwater crocodile was found dead in the Hansua river near Badakota village on November 3, marking the fifth reported crocodile death in 27 days in and around Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha's Kendrapara district. The deaths have raised concerns about illegal fishing and shortcomings in wildlife protection and monitoring.
Veterinary doctors have conducted post-mortem examinations on the five crocodiles and sent tissue samples to the Centre for Wildlife Health at the Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) in Bhubaneswar for analysis. “The exact causes of death will be established once the reports are received,” said Varadaraj Gaonkar, the park's divisional forest officer (DFO).
The latest incident follows the death of a 1.88-metre-long female saltwater crocodile on October 25. Its carcass was found in the Luna river near Gopinathpur village. A day earlier, another female crocodile, measuring 2.13 metres, was found washed ashore on the Brahmani river near Bengamari village, within the Dangamal forest range. On October 22, forest officials recovered the carcass of a 1.12-metre-long female crocodile from the Hansua river near Badakota village. On October 6, a 4.26-metre-long male saltwater crocodile, estimated to be about 20 years old, was found dead in the Brahmani river near Nagada village.
The latest death brings the reported toll from unnatural crocodile deaths to 22 over the past six years and 44 over the past 14 years in and around the national park, raising concerns among forest officials and conservationists.
"The deaths of four crocodiles within such a short period are deeply disturbing. We are losing potentially breeding-age males and females. If this continues, we could gradually lose the crocodile population. The gains made over the past 50 years could be undone. Local communities and the Forest Department must work together wholeheartedly to protect the estuarine crocodile and its mangrove habitat," said Sudhakar Kar, a herpetologist and former wildlife researcher with the Odisha Forest Department.
Kar attributed the recent deaths to inadequate protection of the national park and its adjoining water bodies, where illegal fishing continues despite a ban. Fishers using prohibited nets in rivers and creeks pose a serious threat to crocodiles, he alleged. Crocodiles can become entangled in fishing nets and drown or suffocate if they cannot surface to breathe, he added.
The saltwater crocodile population in the Bhitarkanika region was estimated at 95, including 34 adults, in 1975. The conservation programme began that year as a joint initiative of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests and the United Nations Development Programme. It played a significant role in reviving the estuarine crocodile population in the park's rivers and creeks.
Bhitarkanika gained international recognition in 2006 when Guinness World Records documented a 7.01-metre-long saltwater crocodile from the park as the world's largest, Kar said. Gaonkar said, according to the census conducted in January 2026, the park is now home to 1,858 saltwater crocodiles.