Odisha: Bird census begins in Bhitarkanika National Park
The annual census of birds in the world-famous backwaters of Bhitarkanika National Park in Kendrapara has begun from today.
Kendrapara: The annual census of birds in the world-famous backwaters of Bhitarkanika National Park in Kendrapara has begun from today, informed Kanika Range Officer.
The census began at around 5:30 am in the morning and will continue till 1:30 pm in the noon, reports said.
As many as 17 teams have been deployed for the counting of the migratory birds in the National Park. The census will be carried out in Laxmi Prasad, Durga Prasad and Mathaadia sides of Bhitarkanika, further said reports.
The world-famous Bhitarkanika National Park and crocodile sanctuary located in Kendrapara district of Odisha has been closed to tourists from January 4, 2023.
The park will remain closed to tourists for a period of 10 days for crocodile census.
The enumerators will be assisted by trained forest staffs and will cover the Bhitarkanika river system besides creeks and inlets.
The day-and-night census will be monitored by technical experts, deputed from Wildlife Headquarters. The total number of crocodiles in the park was 1742 in the last census, said a forest official.
Rajnagar divisional forest officer said crocodiles would be counted in four ranges in the Rajnagar forest.
Ms Kalinga