A family in the Anand district of India’s Gujarat faced a terrifying situation early last week. In the dead of night, family members found a live seven-foot crocodile inside their home’s bathroom.
The homeowner, Balvai Chauhan, said he was woken in the middle of the night by dogs barking continuously outside the house. He came out to see what had happened and, on opening the bathroom door, came face to face with the huge crocodile.
The whole family froze in fear. Seeing the situation getting out of hand, they immediately alerted the forest department. A joint team of forest officials and volunteers from a local wildlife rescue foundation quickly reached the spot. After an operation lasting about an hour, they managed to capture the crocodile safely. It was later released into a nearby pond.
A video of the rescue that spread on social media shows a cramped bathroom packed with clothes and other household items. In it, a man tries to drag the crocodile out with a rope noose around its body and the help of a long stick. The main aim after the rescue was to return the animal to a safe water body.
According to forest officials, such incidents often occur during the monsoon. Rising water levels from heavy rain drive crocodiles out of their natural habitats. They often enter nearby residential areas in search of food or to regulate their body temperature.
Officials also said a pond in the neighbouring village of Malataj has more than 100 crocodiles, so the risk of the animals coming onto roads or into people’s homes is much higher during heavy rain and flooding.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report