Census officials say that Vadodara easily has the highest number of crocodiles among all districts of Gujarat.
There are 1,000 reptiles in the Vadodara district as per a census. 270 crocodiles were spotted in the Vishwamitri River which included baby crocodiles as well. In the 2015 census, the river was home to 260 crocodiles. The majority of the crocodiles were spotted in stretches between Bhimnath Bridge to Central Jail, Sayajibaug, and near Kala Ghoda Circle.
Apart from the Vishwamitri River, forest officials also counted crocodiles in Dhadhar River, Dev River, Mahi River, Ajwa Lake, and 50 ponds in the entire district.
This was the first such comprehensive census wherein crocodiles living in all the talukas were included. One of the main reasons these reptiles are found in various places is because of the Narmada canal which has a vast network. Many of the crocodiles swim through the canal and migrate to different water bodies.
As many as 11 teams were formed to count the crocodiles in two parts – one in the day time and another at night. The forest teams walked around the 17-km stretch of Vishwamitri River starting from Vadodara-Ahmedabad Expressway to Talsat village in Makarpura to count the reptiles.
