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PERSPECTIVE article

Front. Amphib. Reptile Sci.

Sec. Conservation

Volume 3 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/famrs.2025.1639071

This article is part of the Research TopicChallenges in Crocodile ConservationView all articles

The evaluation of prospects for human and saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) conflict: The case of coastal Bhitarkanika National Park, India

Provisionally accepted
Satya Narayan ParidaSatya Narayan Parida1Partha Sarathi TripathyPartha Sarathi Tripathy1Neelesh KumarNeelesh Kumar1Ajaya Kumar RoutAjaya Kumar Rout1ANUSUIYA PANDAANUSUIYA PANDA1Manmohan DobriyalManmohan Dobriyal1Pranaya Kumar ParidaPranaya Kumar Parida2Bijay Kumar BeheraBijay Kumar Behera3*
  • 1Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University, Jhansi, India
  • 2ICAR - Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Barrackpore, India
  • 3National Fisheries Development Board, Hyderabad, India

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The preservation of biodiversity and managing human-wildlife conflicts are significant problems associated with conservation worldwide. The evaluation of the human-saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) conflict around the Bhitarkanika National Park revealed an overview of attacks on humans. In this study, it was found that between 2019 and 2025, a total of 28 fatal attacks were reported in the area adjacent to the National Park. It is also highlighted that the past 25 years of government investment policies in C. porosus conservation have led to a significant increase in the number of C. porosus individuals by approximately 36.4 individuals per year over this period of 25 years, which follows a moderately complex to highly nonlinear trend, the adult C. porosus follows moderately nonlinear trend and sub-adult follows a highly complex trend. The population increases by 12.6 individuals per year, revealing significant growth. A key aspect of this study is the difficulty of recovering and conserving large predator populations due to the inherent risk they pose to people and their livelihoods. The findings of the study will aid in creating strategies to reduce the risk of HWC.

Keywords: crocodile, Crocodylus porosus, Human-wildlife conflict, Bhitarkanika, reptile

Received: 01 Jun 2025; Accepted: 28 Aug 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Parida, Tripathy, Kumar, Rout, PANDA, Dobriyal, Parida and Behera. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Bijay Kumar Behera, National Fisheries Development Board, Hyderabad, India

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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