Crocodile Breeding Centre, Kurukshetra

The Bhor Saidan Crocodile Breeding Centre (Hindi: भौर सैदां मगरमच्छ प्रजनन केंद्र) is located 22 km from New Kurukshetra bus stand sector 10 and 13 km from old kurukshetra city bus stand at Bhor Saidan village (Hindi: भौर सैदां), also spelled as Bhour Saidan or Bhoor Saiydan, on the Kurukshetra-Pehowa road near Bhureeshwar Temple, one of the pilgrimage sites in Kurukshetra in the Indian state of Haryana.

Bhor Saidan Crocodile Breeding Centre भौर सैदां मगरमच्छ प्रजनन केंद्र
Wildlife breeding
Bhor Saidan Crocodile Breeding Centre Location in Haryana, India Bhor Saidan Crocodile Breeding Centre Bhor Saidan Crocodile Breeding Centre (India)
Coordinates: 29°57′43″N 76°41′49″E
Country	India
State	Haryana
District	Kurukshetra district
Founded by	Mahant
Government
• Type	Government of Haryana
• Body	Forests Department, Haryana
Languages
• Official	Hindi
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
Website	www.haryanaforest.gov.in

Bhor Saidan village, sitting on an ancient archeological mound of Painted Grey Ware culture (1200 BCE to 600 BCE)) from the Vedic period of Mahabharata, is a tirth in 48 kos parikrama of Kurukshetra on the banks of dried up river bed of Sarasvati River,[1][2][3] was named after Kaurava hero Bhurisrava of Mahabharta, son of Somadutta.[4]

History

The Mugger crocodiles are believed to have been brought by one of the Mahants of the nearby temples in the 1930s. In 1980, Forests Department, Haryana took over the breeding centre and the Bhor Saidan village panchayat gave 15+ acre land to the Government of Haryana to start the breeding centre.[5] Periphery has been fenced and a mound inside the pond was created to watch the crocodiles from the close range.[6]

Crocodiles At Bhor Saidan

Mugger crocodile

The centre comprises a wild pond that is used to rear Indian Mugger crocodiles (Crocodylus pallustris). The Crocodile Breeding Centre has 10 male, 4 female and 10 young Mugger crocodiles.[7]

Escape of Crocodiles

Around the mid 1980s, several crocodiles escaped from the Bhor Saidan Crocodile Farm and nearby Saraswati drain and several villages have now become the habitat of escaped stray crocodiles that are caught from time to time in the nearby villages such as Mukimpura and Dabkoli.[8]

Crocodile adoption

In 2015, Forests Department, Haryana launched a scheme for individuals, organizations and corporations to adopt animals in state's zoos and breeding centres, including at Bhor Saidan Crocodile Center.[9][10]

Issues

Since crocodiles have 100+ years life-span and the breeding centre lacks infrastructure to cater for large population of crocodiles, overcrowding is a problem. As a result, caretakers have stopped the external intervention e.g. artificial incubation of the eggs. Though female crocodiles eat the weak youngs and this keeps the population under control.[11]

Gallery

• 
  Adult male mugger crocodile
• 
  Crocodiles in captivity
• 
  Mugger crocodile

References

1. "Bhor Saidan on Kurukshetra's official website". Archived from the original on 12 September 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
2. Saraswati research centre yet to come up at KU, The Tribune newspaper, 22-May-2017
3. Experts for work on Saraswati river project, Tribune News Service, 11-Feb-2007
4. Bhor Saidan name history
5. A Review on Status and Conservation of Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) in India
6. "Revenue Department of Haryana Govt Gazetteers of Kurukshetra 2009: Chapter I" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
7. "Haryana Samvad June 2012" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 November 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
8. Crocodile rescued in Kurukshetra, The Tribune news service, 12 Aug 2016
9. Haryana govt launches adoption scheme for birds and animals, Times of India, 6-Oct-2016
10. Haryana Government Starts Scheme for 'Adoption' of Wild Animals, NDTV, 2-Oct-2016
11. Crocodile boom a ‘gnawing’ problem – by Ruchika M. Khanna, Tribune News Servic30 November 2004

See also

• Crocodiles in India