Chinmaya IAS Academy – Current Affairs Chinmaya IAS Academy – Current Affairs
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- Saltwater Crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus), used to be found in Vietnam and southern China, became extinct in these areas due to human activity.
- It is the largest of the 23 species of ‘extant’ or living crocodilians. This includes ‘true crocodiles’, alligators and caimans.
- The saltie is also called the ‘estuarine crocodile’ and as the name suggests, is typically found in the brackish water of estuaries.
- It can also tolerate saltwater in the oceans and can travel long distances over the open ocean, making use of tidal currents.
- The ‘saltie’ is today found in three locations in India — the Sundarbans, Bhitarkanika National Park and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
- It is one of the three crocodiles native to the Indian Subcontinent, along with the mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris) and the gharial (Gavialis gangeticus).
- It is also found in Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Australia and the Solomon Islands.
- During antiquity the species’ range extended from the Seychelles and Kerala, India in the west through to southeastern China, Palau and Vanuatu in the east.
- Habitat destruction, fragmentation, and transformation, fishing activities and use of crocodile parts for medicinal purposes.
SOURCE: THE HINDU,THE ECONOMIC TIMES,MINT
