Crocodile found in family's shower

1 August 2014, 11:56

An Indian man got a shock when he went to take a shower - and almost stood on a huge crocodile.

Kalpesh Patel, 41, said: "At first I didn't even know if it was alive, I just stood there staring at it in my bath robe and then suddenly I saw it blink, and I turned round and ran off as fast as I could - slamming the door behind me."

He said when he had told his wife and kids not to go in the bathroom because there was a massive crocodile in there, they had not believed him at first.

But he had got neighbours at Sojitra village in the Anand district of Gujarat to also look in the bathroom and they confirmed the crocodile was there.

He said: "I have no idea how it got into the house or even why it went there, but we weren't prepared to let it out again.

"We called the police who arranged for forestry officials to capture the crocodile. The last I saw was them taking it away in a cage."

Local police said that the crocodile had been transported to a lake in the nearby Malataj village of Anand district where it had been released unharmed.

Source

Baby whale shark rescued from fisherman’s net off India

Whale shark pup rescue indicates possible breeding in Gujarat

May 2013. A new-born Whale shark pup that was recently freed by fishermen from nets in the Indian state of Gujarat has provided a clue that that the world's largest fish may be breeding off the coast of Gujarat. 

Whale Shark Conservation Project

The release of the Whale shark pup was reported to the Whale Shark Conservation Project team by a local fisherman. The Project, a joint venture of the Gujarat Forest Department, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and Tata Chemicals Limited (TCL), has been carrying out research on the mighty fish along Gujarat coast since 2008. The fishermen said that they had not seen a Whale shark pup for over four decades. 

"We have been trying to understand ecology, behaviour and migration of the Whale sharks, after the successful Whale shark campaign that convinced fishermen to release Whale sharks caught in their nets," said Professor B.C. Choudhury, Senior Advisor to WTI. 

Credit WWF Philippines. 

Born this year

Dr Rachel Graham, renowned Whale shark expert and a member of the scientific advisory committee of the project, said, "The sighting or capture of such a young Whale shark is very rare. This particular pup looks like it was most likely born this year and the capture off the coast of Gujarat suggests that Whale sharks are pupping in the area." 

The pup was around 60 cm long, which is the size a month or two-month old pup is expected to be. Whale sharks vary greatly in size when they are born, from 33cm long around the Philippines (read here about a Whale shark pup rescued in the Philippines.) to about 55cm in Taiwanese waters. 

 http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/whale-shark-pup013.html