Mugger or Marsh Crocodile

Mugger or Marsh Crocodile

News: Recently, the Indian Railways has delivered water to Pali district in western Rajasthan to ensure survival of Mugger Crocodile or Marsh Crocodile as the region’s water bodies have dried up due to a hot March.

About:
• An egg-laying and hole-nesting species, also known to be dangerous.
• Mainly restricted to the Indian subcontinent where it may be found in a number of freshwater habitat types and also in coastal saltwater lagoons and estuaries.

Protection Status:
• IUCN – Vulnerable
• CITES – Appendix I
• Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 – Schedule I

Other species of Crocodiles:

Estuarine or Saltwater Crocodile:
• Considered as the Earth’s largest living crocodile species, infamous globally as a known man-eater.
• Found in Odisha’s Bhitarkanika National Park, the Sundarbans in West Bengal and the Andamans and Nicobar Islands.
• IUCN status – Least Concern
• CITES – Appendix I
• Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 – Schedule I

Gharial:
• Gharial derives its name from Ghara, an Indian word for pot because of a bulbous knob present at the end of their snout.
• They prefer deep fast flowing rivers; however adult Gharial have also been observed in still water branches (jheel)
• Today, they survive only in waters of India and Nepal. They can be found within tributaries of the Ganges river system: Girwa (UP), Son (MP), Ramganga (Uttrakhand), Gandak (Bihar), Chambal (UP, MP and Rajasthan) and Mahanadi (Orissa)
• IUCN status – Critically Endangered
• Wildlife Protection act, 1972 – Schedule I
• CITES – Appendix I