India's Bhitarkanika National Park provides sanctuary for rare species
These muddy mangrove forests and estuaries are home to albino crocodiles, giant sea turtles and hundreds of bird species.
Where the sea meets the land
The Bhitarkanika sanctuary is located in the estuarial region of Bramhani-Baitarani on the Bay of Bengal in India's eastern Odisha state. The sanctuary covers an area of 672 square kilometers of mangrove forests and wetland.
A green sanctuary
Three rivers flow out to sea at Bhitarkanika, forming a tidal maze of muddy creeks and mangroves. The park is home to more than 215 species of birds.
Watch your step
The population of saltwater crocodiles has increased in the waters of Bhitarkanika National Park and the nearby areas in Kendrapara district, with forest officials counting 1,757 crocodiles in last year’s annual reptile census.
Home of giant crocodiles
Park officials counted around 12 albino crocodiles and four giant crocodiles more than 20 feet long in the waters of Bhitarkanika during the most recent census. Some of these crocodiles can live for more than 70 years.
Custodians of nature
"We formed 22 teams to count the crocodiles in all the creeks and rivers within the park and its nearby areas," said Bikasah Ranjan Dash, Bhitarkanika's divisional forest officer. Security is high on the beach to protect Olive Ridley sea turtle eggs.
Baby turtles on their first big journey
The eastern coast of Odisha, where the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Reserve is located, is the world's largest nesting site for Olive Ridley sea turtles, followed by the coasts of Mexico and Costa Rica. After about 45-65 days, the eggs begin to hatch, and these beaches are swamped with crawling turtle babies making their first trek towards the ocean.
Life begins in the sand
Olive Ridley turtles mate in the ocean. Females can store sperm throughout the breeding season, enabling them to produce one to three clutches of eggs. Like all sea turtles, they nest on the beach where they were born. Females lay 50 to 200 eggs in each nest and return to the ocean shortly after. The turtles are threatened by poaching and beach degradation.
At home in the water
Last year, when there were fewer visitors due to the COVID lockdown, more than 800,000 Olive Ridley turtles had returned to the coasts of Odisha. Here a turtle is seen swimming back out to sea.