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After remaining out of bounds for tourists for three months, Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha reopened on Tuesday. The park was closed for the annual census of estuarine crocodiles from May 1 to July 31.
The park will allow day visitors and night stay in cottages and guest houses, said Sudarshan Gopinath Yadav, Divisional Forest Officer, Rajnagar Mangrove (wildlife) Forest Division.
Tourists and visitors intending to visit Bhitarkanika should log on to www.ecotourodisha.com for bookings, the official said. Attracting tourists from across India and abroad, the forest department has rest house facilities in Dangamala, Agaranasi, Habalikothi, Gupti and Eakakula, he said.
A strict ban has been imposed on use of plastic disposables in protected areas and advised tourists not to carry polythene and litter plastic bottles and other items in the forest. Green protocol will be strictly implemented, the forest officer added.
The park was shut for three months to ensure disturbance-free annual nesting of crocodiles. The reptiles often turn violent and attack intruders during this period. Boat journeys along the mangrove-covered waterbodies are a major attraction for tourists and on any given day, 350 to 400 visitors make trips by boats.
The jungle has long attracted hard-core adventurers. It is known as the ‘gap’ on Panama’s Darien isthmus because it is the only missing section, running about 60 miles, on the Pan-American highway that stretches from Alaska to Argentina. For decades, only the most intrepid of travelers ventured into this once impenetrable forest – dodging guerrillas and bandits; hunting for rare orchids or the great green macaw.
Bhitarkanika is home to 70 per cent of India’s estuarine crocodile or saltwater crocodiles, conservation of which was started in 1975. According to Bhitarkanika National Park authorities, mammals found in the place are leopard, wild boar, jungle cat, fishing cat, hyena, sambar, striped palm squirrel, gangetic dolphin while reptiles found comprise turtles including Olive Ridley sea turtle, crocodile, lizard, water monitors, python, and king cobra. Around 166 species of birds have been spotted in the park.
Bhitarkanika is one of the richest storehouses of mangrove genes. Researchers have come across 11 of the 70 mangrove species, which were facing threat of extinction in the world, in the national park.
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