Sri Vijaya Puram, Sept.19: The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has recorded 586 saltwater crocodiles across the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in a pan-island assessment, providing fresh data on the species’ distribution as authorities seek to strengthen conservation and address human-crocodile conflict.
The survey covered 173 of 176 selected creeks, with crocodiles detected in 91 sites, or 52.6 per cent of the surveyed creeks. Nearly 47 per cent of the total estimated saltwater crocodile population was concentrated in the Little Andaman and Nicobar division.
The assessment formed part of the “Conservation and Management Plan of Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands” project undertaken by WII under the directives of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation Limited (ANIIDCO), in collaboration with the Andaman and Nicobar Forest Department.
Before fieldwork began, 536 personnel received training across nine forest divisions. Researchers selected 176 creeks for the assessment, but three could not be surveyed because of accessibility constraints.
Fieldwork took place in three closely spaced phases during February and March 2026 to reduce the possibility of crocodiles moving between creeks during the survey period and support the assumption of population closure. Researchers used a dependent double-observer method to count the animals and estimate detection probability.
Each site underwent four repeat surveys, comprising two daytime and two nighttime observations. The researchers used these repeated observations to improve detection and account for observer bias. At each site, the maximum cumulative number recorded by both observers across the repeat surveys was used as the minimum, or “best”, count, with site-level counts then combined to derive the minimum observed population estimate.
The findings also carry implications for human safety. The islands recorded 36 fatal and non-fatal human-crocodile conflict cases between 1983 and 2023, while a separate study found that such conflict increased by 75 per cent after the 2004 tsunami.
Nearly 75 per cent of attacks and sightings occurred between June and December, the wet season. The report attributed some conflicts to livestock near crocodile habitats, dumping of protein-rich food around creeks and beaches, particularly tourist areas, and unchecked human activity near these sites during the breeding season.
Authorities have asked researchers to examine the reasons for the post-tsunami increase in conflict. The latest assessment is expected to support conservation measures while helping protect people from crocodile attacks.
The saltwater crocodile, or Crocodylus porosus, is the largest living crocodilian. It occupies coastal habitats including lagoons, deltas, estuaries, marshes and creeks and occurs in three separate populations along India’s eastern coast in Odisha, West Bengal and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
