Charotar’s Chhaniya muggers scare none

VADODARA/ ANAND: In the nondescript Malataj village of Anand district, it’s not unusual to see women going about their usual chores — washing clothes, utensils and children playing by the pond that is full of crocodiles.
There are nearly 16 crocodiles in the pond but villagers are not scared.
“We are aware that the crocs are a shy creature. Like other reptiles, they are also harmless if not disturbed,” said Malataj sarpanch Durgesh Patel.Patel, 38, even doubles up as croc rescuer in this village.
“Some of these crocs come into the village at night, which is their hunting time. They are present near the village panchayat office, two mohullas nearby and can been seen on the narrow paths crisscrossing various farms near the lake,” said Patel.
If there is one reason why crocodiles have thrived in the wetlands of lush green Charotar, it is because the region has witnessed the least incidents of human-crocodile conflict in Central Gujarat.
Wildlife experts suggest that in last three decades, there have been only four instances of human-crocodile conflict in Charotar region comprising of Anand and Kheda districts. Of these four incidents, only one had turned fatal when a nine year old girl of Traj village was attacked by a crocodile in August 2009.
In stark contrast, banks of Vishwamitri river in Vadodara, which is home to nearly 260 crocodiles, have witnessed several incidents of human-crocodile conflict. In fact, last year, three persons had died in Vadodara after being attacked by crocodiles. This year too, Vadodara has witnessed two incidents of human-crocodile conflict.
“The perception of people of Charotar towards crocodile is positive,” said Dhaval Patel, managing trustee of Voluntary Nature Conservancy (VNC) which carried out the survey of crocodiles of Charotar with the support of UK-based The Rufford Small Grants Foundation, Anand-based Duleep Matthai Nature Conservation Trust and Idea Wild.
“In Vadodara, encroachment has reached right into the bank of Vishwamitri river. Also, non-vegetarian food of eateries is dumped on the bank of the river. So, crocodiles have lost the fear of human beings and have started associating human beings with food,” said Dhaval Patel.
“If there is no harassment to them, muggers don’t turn aggressive,” added Patel.
Interestingly, many a villagers in the Charotar region refer to crocodiles as ‘Chhaniya mugger’ (dung muggers) meaning crocodiles who also eat cow dung.
VNC’s study also included survey of 360 villagers (67% male and 33% female) to know their attitude towards the reptile.
“Interestingly, 48.38% of the respondents were aware that muggers are protected species under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The awareness was more among the males (54.91%) than females (30.16%),” said Patel.