You must have often heard of stray dogs or cats being a menace in a city. There are some places where even wild animals leopards, lions and tigers become a problem. However, Gujarat has a unique infestation — that of crocodiles. Yes, you read that right. In case you weren’t aware, Gujarat has been witnessing heavy rains and floods for the last few days. Many people have shared chilling videos of crocodiles outside houses, on walls and even swimming through the flood!
Crocodiles Spotted In Gujarat Amid Heavy Rains & Flooding
No Zomato or Blinkit in my city (Vadodara) for the past 3 days – we have heavy rainfalls and the local river is flooding.
Most of the shops/stores are closed.
We have crocodiles roaming the city like the own it 💀🐊🐊
Open season for Crocodiles pic.twitter.com/NqyAOEXWqz
— anul agarwal (@anulagarwal) August 28, 2024
According to an article which was recently published by the Hindustan Times or HT, the cause of this is the Viswamitri River. This river is home to as many as 300 crocodiles. When Gujarat was battered with heavy rains, the river swole.
#Vadodara #flood के साथ साथ अब मगरमच्छ का ख़तरा मंडरा रहा हैं। हर बार विश्वामित्री नदी में बाढ़ आती हे तो मगरमच्छ भी पानी के साथ सड़कों पर निकलते हे। #crocodile 🐊 #GujaratFlood #HeavyRainfall #REDALERT pic.twitter.com/aR4YNScOmR
— Tamanaa🦢💌 (@Pandahuyaar) August 27, 2024
This led to flooding in nearby areas which led to the crocodile infestation. Soon, crocodiles were everywhere. So far, officials have managed to capture a total of ten crocodiles. Only two of them have been released back into their habitat and eight are still in captivity.
Crocodile 🐊 spotting
📍Makarpura Jambuva pic.twitter.com/dlO7FNr7C2
— Our Vadodara (@ourvadodara) August 28, 2024
This is because the officials plan on releasing the crocodiles when the water levels decrease further. A couple of the crocodiles they captured were 11 and 18 feet long. One was rescued near the Kamnath Mahadev Temple and the other from the Zoology department at Maharaja Sayajirao or MS University in Vadodara.
Vadodara Gujarat. . . . . The Vishwamitri river is known to be crocodile infested. . . So when it burst its banks, along came a lot of Crocs to explore pic.twitter.com/4jXNeuqZ7V
— Ramanathan N G (@RamanathanNG1) August 30, 2024
Netizens Share Chilling Visuals Of Reptiles In Viral Videos
हर बार विश्वामित्री नदी में बाढ़ आती हे तो मगरमच्छ भी पानी के साथ सड़कों पर निकलते हे। #crocodile 🐊 #GujaratFlood #HeavyRainfall #REDALERT #Ahmedabad #Vadodara #flood pic.twitter.com/yhZrEFwmH2
— Talim Gani (@itstalimgani) August 29, 2024
Many people took chilling videos of the reptiles and shared them on X (formerly known as Twitter). One video showed the reptile chilling on the roof of a house!
A crocodile was spotted on the roof of a house in Gujarat’s #Vadodara as the state continues to reel from floods after extremely heavy rainfall.
The video of the incident has gone viral on social media. pic.twitter.com/YiQar38EXE
— Our Vadodara (@ourvadodara) August 29, 2024
Another shocking video shows a croc swimming with a dead stray dog between its teeth! There are a number of videos showing locals struggling to catch a crocodile that has made its way into their neighbourhood.
#Vadodara is facing a double threat with both floods and crocodile sightings. As the Vishwamitri River overflows, crocodiles are seen venturing into various human settlements across the city. #GujaratRains #GujaratFlood pic.twitter.com/tHHVJxxCUu
— Parimal Nathwani (@mpparimal) August 28, 2024
Have you ever witnessed anything like this? How would you react if you walked out of your home and saw a crocodile just chilling there? Let us know in the comments section below!
Cover Image Credits: @RamanathanNG1 and @itstalimgani/X (Formerly, Twitter)
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