World Crocodile Day Observed to Promote Crocodilian Conservation

Key facts

• World Crocodile Day is celebrated every June 17 to raise awareness about the conservation and protection of all crocodilians, including crocodiles, alligators, caimans, and gharials.
• The day was established in 2017 by the Crocodile Research Coalition (CRC) in collaboration with the Belize Zoo.
• The saltwater crocodile is the largest living reptile, with males capable of exceeding 6 metres in length and weighing over 1,000 kilograms.
• The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Forest Department, and Murdoch University conducted a satellite tracking study on saltwater crocodiles in the Sundarbans mangroves of Bangladesh.
• India initiated a crocodile project in 1975 at Bhitarkanika in Odisha to bring back the gharial and other species from the brink of extinction.