The crocodile was rescued on Saturday and finally released at Vihar lake on Sunday.
In a second instance of a crocodile being found close to a promenade at Powai lake in just two months, a three feet crocodile was rescued on Saturday and finally released at Vihar lake on Sunday.
According to Harshal Khandave, a rescuer with NGO Spreading Awareness on Reptiles and Rehabilitation Programe (SARRP), he received a phone call from two people on Saturday about them having found and secured a crocodile at Powai lake, close to IIT Mumbai area. "Sharma and Salim from Powai, who regularly call me to rescue snakes, told me that they saw some local children pelting stones near bush area and found that there was a juvenile crocodile," he said, adding that the duo also told them that they had secured the crocodile using a plastic crate used by vegetable vendors.
On reaching the spot Khandave along with another volunteer Hitesh Keni ensured that the crocodile remained in the crate. "With the crate over the crocodile, we slid a wire mesh net at the bottom of the crate and then turned it upside down and tied it up to prevent the reptile from escaping. Soon after, we alerted the forest department from Mumbai Range and took it to their office in Thane. Since it was already 11 PM, they decided to release it on Sunday," said Khandave.
Santosh Shinde, founder of SARRP said that the reptile was taken to Thane SPCA for a medical test. "We were told that there were lot of dogs around and even some children who had pelted stones at it. So to ensure that it was not injured, a detailed medical examination was carried out on Sunday. Since it was found healthy and without any injuries, we along with volunteers including Omkar Deherkar and Vishal Surve, it was released under the supervision of the Mumbai division forest officers," said Shinde.
It was in July that images of a crocodile on the promenade of the smaller Ganesh immersion ghat, adjoining the IIT-Mumbai boundary wall, were being circulated on social media, leaving not only activists worried but visitors to Powai lake rattled. The images showed a young crocodile, around four feet long, on the promenade, with some people trying to shoo it away using branches of trees.
Mayur Kamath, honorary wildlife warden for Mumbai and state wildlife board member, said that there was an urgent need to carry out estimation of the crocodile population in Tulsi, Vihar as well as Powai lake. "It has rained heavily and several lakes including Tulsi, Vihar and Powai that have a crocodile population have overflowed. There are high chances that this juvenile might have lost its way in the overflowing Powai lake and come close to the land area. However, the forest department should also begin micro-chipping all such rescued crocodiles," he said.
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