The city of Vadodara, in the Indian state of Gujarat, is crawling with giant crocodiles following the overflowing of a local river caused by record rainfall.
As if having to deal with the water flooding their homes and streets wasn’t enough, the people of Vadodara have to be on the lookout for giant crocodiles waiting to snatch their animals or even attack them. Videos of giant reptiles walking through the streets, chilling on house roofs, or swimming in canals with dead animals between their jaws have been doing the rounds on Indian social media ever since the Vishwamitri River overflowed last week. The river is home to hundreds of freshwater crocodiles, at least two dozen of which were caught in Vadodara between August 27 and 29.
Photo: X (Twitter)
“The smallest crocodile we rescued was two feet long, while the largest was 14 feet long, which was caught on Thursday from Kamnath Nagar situated along the river. Local residents alerted us about this huge crocodile,” Vadodara Range Forest Officer Karansinh Rajput said. “Two other crocodiles, 11 feet long, were also rescued on Thursday from EME Circle and an open area near the Zoology Department of MS University.”
The Vishwamitri River stretches 17 kilometers through the Indian city and people living along the river’s banks are used to crocodiles venturing into the streets during the monsoon season, but this year, an unusually large number of them had to be removed from residential areas.
Photo: X (Twitter)
Vadodara residents have been issuing warning for people to be on the lookout for crocodiles when they venture outside their homes, even though the giant reptiles are known to attack humans. There have however been sightings of crocodiles killing, dogs, cats, and even cattle and then swimming away with their bodies.
“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,” one X (Twitter) user wrote.
