Croc in distress
An 8 foot long mugger crocodile, missing a third of its snout, was rescued by Wildlife SOS after it had wandered into a dry, village pond during a cleaning operation by authorities in Firozabad. The crocodile is currently being treated by the Wildlife SOS veterinarians.
On Sunday, 17th November 2019,the Wildlife SOS’ Agra team received an emergency call from the Firozabad forest department about a crocodile in peril. The massive reptile had been accidentally injured by a JCB that was being used to clean out a dried up pond near NanglaAchal village.The authorities immediately stopped the operation and alerted the Forest Department, who then contacted Wildlife SOS.The residents reported that they have spotted the crocodile on several occasions and that it had presumably taken up shelter near the pond.
Three rescuers from the NGO, accompanied by a team of forest officers were immediately dispatched to the scene. Time was of the essence as the top priority was to rescue the crocodile before anyone was hurt. In the meantime, a huge crowd started swarming to the scene to catch a glimpse of the 8 foot long reptile and take pictures of it on their cell phones. While the Wildlife SOS team conducted a quick assessment of the situation, the forest officers cordoned off the area as a safety measure.
A close inspection revealed that one-third of the crocodile’s snout had been ripped off in the accident, and it was in excruciating pain. The injured animal was rushed to the Wildlife SOS animal hospital for medical treatment and care.
Dr. Ilayaraja, Wildlife SOS Deputy Director for Veterinary Services, said, “An entire section of the crocodile’s snout is missing and the soft tissue and cartilage has been severely damaged. Our top priority is pain management for the mugger and continuous dressing to eliminate infection. We’re also providing the necessary medication to accelerate its healing and are going to start with laser therapy to assist in the same.”
Kartick Satyanarayan, Co-founder and CEO of Wildlife SOS, said, “When dealing with big, powerful animals like crocodiles our rescuers have to exercise extreme caution to avoid any mishaps. We are very grateful to the UP Forest department for helping us coordinate a seamless rescue. They worked on crowd control while our team worked to get the crocodile immediate medical care and to safety. The crocodile is now in a stable condition due to their timely response.”
A.K. Sagar, RFO, Jasrana, said, “The forest department works closely with Wildlife SOS to conduct wildlife rescues across the state. They are very well equipped to deal with injured animals, and are an ideal choice for providing medical care to them.”
