'Third eye' to watch crocodiles in Chambal

Etawah, Jun 30: Taking note of the rising death count of crocodiles in the Etawah-based Chambal sanctuary, wildlife experts have decided to fix radio transmitters with the reptile to ensure conservation of the species. The death of as many as 200 crocodiles under suspicious circumstances in the last six months has left the forest officials in a tizzy, sources said.

As the decline in the reptile's number was still on, the wildlife experts, both Indian and foreign, have swing into action to discover probable ways to deal with the problem. However, the baffled foreign wildlife experts have now come up with a solution and decided to attach radio transmitters on the animal's body as a ''third eye.''

In a conversation, retile specialist Dr Jaffi Lang said ''it is the first time, when such hi-tech transmiter is being fixed with any animal.'' ''The device would catch signal upto two km range and allow the officials to trace the activity of the crocodile till some distance,'' he informed.

Neither anybody, barring workers and officials, were allowed to enter the Chambal sanctuary, nor any industries flourishing nearby that could pose a danger to the animal's life, said puzzled Dr Basu, one of the assistors in the drive.

Therefore, it becomes necessary to know the reason behind the death of the reptile, he added.

In December last year, a series of reports claiming crocodiles' death have come to light and left the Forest ministry ''speechless.'' In 1973, Chambal was declared a sanctuary for conservation of the animals, whereas as per a count, as many as 856 crocodiles existed in the sanctuary in 1978.

UNI