Mumbai, Nov 17: The recent review of India's crocodile breeding programme has revealed largescale gaps in the programme involving their reintroduction to respective habitats, including in the Brahmaputra Valley. Lack of proper monitoring of conservation breeding centres and reintroduction sites resulting in accumulation of crocodile population, mix up of inter-river basin population and over-stocking in release locations resulting in crocodile-human conflicts, were some of the issues to be addressed, Dr B C Choudhury, head of conservation department for endangered species, Wildlife Institute of India said.

However, the "headstart" and "grow and release" method, adopted under crocodile conservation programme to save the three species, have been immensely successful, he said.

The three species are now being bred in at least 35 conservation breeding locations including zoological parks and conservation centres, Choudhury said at the centenary seminar of the journal of the Bombay Natural History Society here during the week-end.

Atleast 40 protected areas have been restocked with captive-reared crocodile stocks, halting the drastic decline of the crocodile in India.

Choudhury urged the conservationists to consolidate the success, rather than accentuating a "negative image of badly managed" captive crocodile populations and increasing man-crocodile conflict.

Bureau Report