<h1 class="ql-align-center"><strong style="color: rgb(230, 0, 0);">Saltie Census 2023</strong></h1><p class="ql-align-center"><br></p><h3><strong>Context&nbsp;</strong></h3><ul><li class="ql-indent-1">As per Saltie census 2023, The population of <strong>saltwater crocodiles in the water bodies of Bhitarkanika National Park and its nearby areas in Odisha’s Kendrapara district</strong> has marginally increased in 2023.</li><li class="ql-indent-2">Bhitarkanika is the abode of 20 whitish estuarine crocodiles</li><li class="ql-indent-2">In 2006, the <strong>Guinness Book of World Records</strong> recorded a 23-foot long salt-water crocodile in Bhitarkanika as the largest crocodile in the world.</li></ul><h3><br></h3><h3><strong>About Saltwater crocodile:</strong></h3><ul><li class="ql-indent-1">It is the largest of the 23 species of ‘extant’ or living crocodilians. This includes ‘true crocodiles’, alligators and caimans.</li><li class="ql-indent-1">It is also called the ‘estuarine crocodile’ as it is typically found in the <strong>brackish water of estuaries.</strong></li><li class="ql-indent-1">It can also tolerate saltwater in the oceans and can travel long distances over the open ocean, making use of tidal currents.</li></ul><h3><br></h3><h3><strong>Conservation Status</strong></h3><ul><li class="ql-indent-1"><strong>IUCN</strong> Red List:Least Concern</li><li class="ql-indent-1"><strong>CITES</strong>:Appendix I (except the populations of Australia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, which are included in Appendix II).</li><li class="ql-indent-1"><strong>Wildlife Protection Act, 1972:Schedule I</strong></li></ul><h3><br></h3><h3><strong>Habitat:&nbsp;</strong></h3><ul><li class="ql-indent-1">Saltwater Crocodile is found in <strong>Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Australia and the Solomon Islands.</strong></li><li class="ql-indent-1">It is also one of the three crocodiles native to the Indian Subcontinent, along with the mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris) and the gharial (Gavialis gangeticus).</li><li class="ql-indent-1">In India, it is found in three locations— the <strong>Sundarbans, Bhitarkanika National Park and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.</strong></li></ul><h3><br></h3><h3><strong>Threats:&nbsp;</strong></h3><ul><li class="ql-indent-1">Illegal hunting, habitat loss, fishing activities, use of crocodile parts for medicinal purposes and antipathy toward the species because of its reputation as a man-eater.</li></ul><p><br></p><h1 class="ql-align-center"><strong>PRELIMS NOTES:</strong><a href="https://sunyaias.in/notes/prelims-2023" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);"><strong>CLICK HERE</strong></a></h1><p class="ql-align-center"><br></p>