Bhitarkanika crocodile deaths have risen to five in 27 days after forest officials recovered the carcass of a female saltwater crocodile from the Hansua river near Badakota village in Kendrapada district, raising concern over the safety of the reptiles and their mangrove habitat.
Locals spotted the four-foot-two-inch carcass in the morning and informed forest officials, who retrieved it for examination. A postmortem was conducted to determine the cause of death, but the reason has not yet been established.
Divisional forest officer of Bhitarkanika Varadaraj Gaonkar said veterinary doctors had performed autopsies on the dead crocodiles and sent viscera samples to the Centre for Wildlife Health at Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology in Bhubaneswar. “We will know the exact cause of the deaths after receiving the reports,” Gaonkar said.
The latest death is the fifth reported in and around Bhitarkanika since October 6. On October 25, forest officials found the carcass of a six-foot-two-inch female crocodile in the Luna river near Gopinathpur village in Kendrapada district. A day earlier, a seven-foot female crocodile was found dead in the Brahmani river near Bengamari village under the Dangamal forest range.
Earlier, officials retrieved the carcass of a three-foot-seven-inch female crocodile from the Hansua river near Badakota on October 22. On October 6, a 14-foot male crocodile, estimated to be about 20 years old, was found dead in the Brahmani river near Nagada village in Bhitarkanika.
The deaths have drawn attention because the affected rivers form part of the estuarine landscape used by saltwater crocodiles around the national park. The January 2026 reptile census recorded 1,858 saltwater crocodiles in Bhitarkanika, according to the report. The figures underline the scale of the protected population while also highlighting the importance of identifying whether the recent deaths share a common cause.
Sudhakar Kar, a herpetologist and former wildlife researcher with the Odisha forest department, said the deaths included potential adult males and females. “If it continues, gradually we will lose crocodiles. What we have achieved in the last 50 years could be jeopardised,” he said, calling for coordinated protection efforts by local residents and the forest department for the crocodiles and their mangrove habitat.
Forest officials are awaiting the laboratory reports from the Centre for Wildlife Health. The findings are expected to establish the exact cause of death and guide the next response by the forest department.
