A photographer couple say they saw a freshwater crocodile on a char of the Padma river in Rajshahi, but local forest department officials have not been able to find it despite searching for several days. They say the crocodile may have moved into the main Padma.
Photographers Imrul Kayes and Umme Khadija Eva said they saw the crocodile on Thursday (16 October) while photographing birds at Shatbigha char in Rajshahi. They took photos and video of the animal with a drone and camera, and said the crocodile picture was taken on the far side of the river from the Padma T-dam in Rajshahi.
On Tuesday the Rajshahi Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division handed out leaflets among fishermen in the Sreerampur area of the city, asking them not to disturb the crocodile.
"It should have surfaced by now"
Jahangir Kabir, an inspector with the Rajshahi Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division, said Eva and Kayes photographed the crocodile six days earlier, but it had not been seen since. "We came again at 9am on Wednesday (22 October) but did not see the crocodile. It should not stay under water this long; it should come up. We think it has gone into the main Padma."
He said they were talking to fishermen on the char and handing out leaflets, asking people not to bathe or fish where the crocodile was seen. He added that this was not the first freshwater crocodile: last year they had seen one at Godagari and Charghat in Rajshahi, but this is the first sighting this time.
Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.
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