Pune: The forest department , along with RESQ Charitable Trust , rescued a large adult crocodile from near Varasgaon dam on Wednesday. The crocodile was spotted at 8.30 pm on the wall of Varasgaon dam by irrigation department officials who were inspecting the water level.
The officials noticed movement in the dark and, upon inspection, found a crocodile at the spot and immediately notified the forest department. “Varasgaon is known to have crocodiles and there have been multiple sightings over the years. The animal was displaced due to the change in water levels,” said Neha Panchamiya, founder of RESQ CT.
Range forest officer of Velhe, Govind Langute, along with ten forest guards and staffers, reached the location at 9pm. Around 20 people from the forest department and RESQ Charitable Trust were present at the spot. According to them, the crocodile came on the wall when the dam doors were opened.
The doors were shut later, and it could not go back. “Due to heavy rain, crocodiles fail to identify their territory, especially due to wetness of the soil, and get confused. It was very close to the dam gate.
This is the first time after ten years that we spotted a crocodile in the area,” Langute told TOI. The rescue operation continued till 4.30am.
Initially, RESQ professionals tried to provide it with safe passage back into the water. However, a wall obstructed the crocodile’s path. Eventually, the crocodile was captured after luring her into a transport box.
It was tran.