MARGAO: A crocodile that was spotted near Borim Bridge was rescued by two wildlife rescue squad members, with the help of Loutolim locals, and released back into the river.
The two wildlife rescue squad members were Benhail Antao, who is also an honorary wildlife warden, and Julio Quadros, who is associated with the Margao Forest Department.
Benhail explained the sequence of events after they received a call to rescue the crocodile from a local, Franky Dias.
He said, “This crocodile had come out of the river in Loutolim near the Borim Bridge, walked a bit and then entered a field. Unfortunately for this massive beauty, it could not climb out of the field and was spotted by local fishermen. Julio and I reached the spot and did a quick job in capturing the crocodile. But it was not yet a rescue! I was now contemplating how to convince the locals that the best thing was to release it back in the river it came from.”
He continued, “That’s when the most interesting thing happened, which has never happened in all my years of rescuing wildlife; Dinesh Naik, Tony Vaz, Luis Fernandes and Vishram Naik, a couple of locals who helped us with the rescue, suggested that we release it in the same river it came from, before I could say anything to them. It was unbelievable and it made my day. It’s always very difficult to convince the locals to share their surroundings with wildlife, but today was a different scene. The croc was released within 10 minutes of capture.”
This, to me, was a perfect rescue, thanks to the locals who made it possible.”
When asked to comment on the perception that there has been an increase in crocodile sightings, Benhail felt that the sightings have not drastically increased.
“ But yes, they are sighted a little more often due to various factors, like increase in human settlements on the banks of rivers and water bodies and clearing of mangroves, and this is a time of the year when the water bodies are drying up, and crocodiles are more visible if it’s a marsh crocodile or mugger,” added Benhail.
Incidentally, the tale of their efforts has drawn praise from many, who have hailed it as a testament of how humans can live in harmony with wildlife.
