Residents of Ratnagiri in western India were in for an unexpected sight on Sunday night as an 8-foot long crocodile was spotted wandering on a rain-soaked street in the area.
The crocodile, suspected to have ventured out of the nearby Shiva River which is home to several such reptiles, was captured on video by an autorickshaw driver in the Chinchnaka locality of Chiplun.
The video shows the large crocodile casually strolling on the road as vehicles cautiously navigate around it.
Locals say heavy rainfall in the region may have prompted the crocodile to leave the river and venture onto the streets.
This is not the first time a crocodile has been spotted in a populated area during the monsoon season in Maharashtra.
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Earlier this year, a 12-foot crocodile was seen on a road near the Vishwamitri river in Vadodara, Gujarat as the monsoon arrived. The forest department was able to capture and safely release that crocodile back into the river.
In the Ratnagiri incident, authorities are monitoring the situation and working to ensure the safety of residents while also trying to guide the crocodile back to its natural habitat in the Shiva River.
Such encounters underscore the need to protect wildlife habitats and manage human-animal conflicts, especially during extreme weather conditions.
