Crocodile found in Mulund drain rescued

A crocodile caused a major scare on Thursday night when it was found in a drain in Mulund. Residents of Mulund colony spotted the crocodile,estimated by forest officials to be seven or eight years old,in a dry drain between 9 and 9.30 pm. The Thane forest department control room received a rescue call from citizens at 10.15 pm.

“A team of 15,nine from the forest department and the rest from the Sanjay Gandhi National Park,including vets,reached the spot around 11.30 pm. We caught the crocodile using a snare,” said Range Forest Officer Mumbai,Sudhir Padvale. The crocodile was examined by SGNP vets,fitted with microchip and released into the Tulsi Lake on Friday.

Animal activists said the forest department arrived late at the spot.

“They reached more than an hour after the call. A crowd of 1,000-2,000 people had gathered and the police was finding it difficult to control them. Either the animal would have caused them harm or vice versa,” said Sunish Subramanian,secretary of NGO Plant and Animals Welfare Society (PAWS).

No concrete explanation came forth about where the crocodile came from,but forest officials say it could have come through a drain in SGNP which leads into the Mulund area.