Much to the shock of residents, a crocodile was seen walking on the streets of Kogilabanna village in Karnataka’s Uttara Kannada district during the early hours of Thursday, July 1. The reptile is said to have made its way from the Kali river in Dandeli town, which is situated about 5 km from the village. Upon being notified by the local residents, Forest Department officials captured the animal and released it into the river.
A local resident spotted the crocodile in the village at around 7 am. As seen in the video, the crocodile seemed to be parading down the streets of the village while locals, including several children, followed it at a distance. Houses can be seen on both sides of the streets. Visuals of the incident are being shared widely. “It came from the river and walked around for about half-an-hour in an area filled with houses. All of us were surprised but we stayed at a distance and informed the Forest Department around 7.30 am,” Sudheer, a local resident told TNM. No harm was caused by the reptile.
Scenes from coastal Karnataka where a crocodile got up from the river and went to town pic.twitter.com/UWYK0ftwiM
— Soumya Chatterjee (@Csoumya21) July 1, 2021
After about 45 minutes, the Forest Department officials were successful in capturing the crocodile and taking it back to the river. “The Kali river is adjacent to the village and hence this is a habitat of crocodiles. They have made it their home and lay eggs there. Once in a while, they spot an opening and climb over it to reach the streets nearby,” Ramu Gouda, Deputy Range Forest Officer (RFO), Dandeli told TNM.
There have been such instances of reptiles making their way into residential areas. A few months ago, an alligator entered the same village and attacked a goat belonging to a local resident. Forest officials had captured the alligator and also provided compensation to the goat’s owner. “Usually, the reptiles are harmless, however, because of crowds or noise they tend to get scared or violent at times,” the official added.
Watch: Crocodile enters Karnataka village and takes a stroll down its streets