Crocodile kills 82-year-old man in Odisha

In the latest instance of human-croc conflict, a furious saltwater crocodile killed an 82-year-old man at a village in the Aul police station jurisdiction of Odisha’s Kendrapara district, an official said on Tuesday.

The incident took place at Malatipatna village when the victim, Panchanan Das, a cattle grazer, was dragged by a crocodile in the Brahmani River near Maknipatna village. His body was later fished out from the river and sent for post mortem to the Aul Community Health Centre, said Bijoy Kumar Pradhan, a forest official.

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The incident occurred outside the national park limits. The deceased person’s family would be covered under an ex gratia compensation payment scheme after the post-mortem report, said the forest officer.

The conflict and consequent loss of human lives are most frequently recorded during the monsoon and winter months, the nesting season of the estuarine crocodiles.

Bhitarkanika National Park, with 1826 crocodiles in its water bodies, has the highest saltwater crocodile population in the country.