Cuttack: The Forest Department personnel rescued a Gharial crocodile from the Mahanadi river from under the Madhusudan Setu over river Mahanadi on the outskirts of the city.
A special team having around 40-45 men from the five Forest divisions of Cuttack City, Cuttack, Athgarh, Chandaka, and Nandankanan, with the help of three boats ensnared the reptile and released back to Mahanadi.
The animal was the first to sight with the net on 27th Dec and it was 3rd attempt by the team to rescue it . The team of Nandankanan, field staffs of Athagarh, Cuttack , Chandaka and City Forest Division plus local fishermen.
On Friday, a large number of people gathered on the Madhusudan bridge after spotting a gharial in the waters and raised apprehensions of a possible croc attack.
A critically endangered species of crocodile family, Gharials area protected species and listed in Schedule 1 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Odisha is probably the only state in the country to have all three species of crocodilian family, the freshwater gharials, muggers and saltwater crocodiles.