Mugger crocodile captured from banana plantation near Coimbatore

The Forest Department on Tuesday captured a mugger crocodile that entered a farm near Sirumugai in Coimbatore district.

The Forest Department on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, captured a mugger crocodile that entered a farm near Sirumugai in Coimbatore district.

Officials from the Department said that the crocodile was spotted at a banana plantation in Mokkamedu near Sirumugai around 7 a.m. Farmers, who spotted the crocodile, immediately alerted staff attached to the Sirumugai forest range of the Coimbatore Forest Division.

“The Forest Department staff reached the spot around 7.30 a.m. and laid nets around the crocodile to restrict its movement. Later, it was captured after tying up its snout with a rope. The entire operation took around four hours,” said Sirumugai forest range officer K. Manoj.

Mr. Majoj said the farm, where the crocodile was spotted, is located around 800 metres away from the water storage area of the Bhavanisagar reservoir. The staff suspect that the crocodile, spanning 3.6 metres, entered the farm after the water level receded in the reservoir.

According to the range officer, the crocodile did not prey on pet animals or poultry. The Forest staff moved the crocodile from the banana plantation to the dam area of the reservoir where it was released by noon.

This is the third such incident in and around Sirumugai in the past four months: in November last year too, the Forest Department staff captured a crocodile that was spotted in a farm pond in Sirumugai in an operation that took over 15 hours. In January, a crocodile was spotted in a check dam at Mothepalayam near Sirumugai, but efforts to capture it went in vain.