Unwanted guest: Hungry crocodile gunned down by villagers

The animal had come out of the Nara Canal and was killed on Wednesday near Salehpat.

SUKKUR: A famished crocodile which had come out of the Nara Canal in search of food was gunned down by villagers near Salehpat, some 20 kilometres away from Sukkur on Wednesday night.

While talking to The Express Tribune, the deputy director of the wildlife department in Sukkur, Ghulam Mohammad Gadani, said that he had heard about the incident and wanted to investigate why the villagers felt the need to kill the animal. “I have sent a team to the area to find out why the crocodile was shot dead,” he said, adding that some people had told him that the animal had been killed for its hide. “I will be able to share the facts only after my team returns from the area.”



When the Nara Canal is closed from January 6 to January 20, its water levels dip and fish become scarce. It is during this time that crocodiles come out of the canal and head to nearby areas in search of food. The crocodile that was shot on Wednesday was reportedly three meters long.

Gadani added that Marsh crocodiles are only found in the Nara Canal, as well as, small saline water lakes in the Nara Desert in Khairpur as well as Deh Akro II in Shaheed Benazirabad. “Over a 1,000 crocodiles live in around six small lakes in Khairpur and 30 in Shaheed Benazirabad. The animals vary in size - they can be anywhere between five-and-a-half and 12 feet.”

He said that last year, two crocodiles had come out of the canal in search of food. “The villagers caught them and informed wildlife officials, who rushed to the area and released the animals into their habitat.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 25^th, 2013.