Chitwan: Over the past 45 years, the Gharial Crocodile Breeding Centre in Chitwan National Park has successfully released 2,315 crocodiles into various rivers, with the majority, 1,560, being released into the Rapti River.
In the current fiscal year alone, 225 crocodiles were released, comprising 14 males and 211 females. The centre has also reported releases in other rivers, including Narayani, Saptakoshi, and Karnali, among others.
Despite these efforts, the population of crocodiles in the wild has not shown a significant increase, with only 366 individuals counted in the Rapti and Narayani rivers last year.
The Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) crocodile, classified as an endangered species, has seen a dramatic decline in its global population, from approximately 10,000 in the 1940s to just two percent of that number by 1970.
This decline has spurred conservation efforts, leading to the establishment of the breeding centre in 1975 when fewer than 100 Gharials remained in Nepal. Current threats to their survival include human activities, pollution, and the extraction of river resources, which compromise their natural habitat.
The breeding centre continues to play a crucial role in the conservation of this species, with 500 crocodiles currently housed there and ongoing breeding efforts yielding new hatchlings.
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