News: Vishwamitri River has rich biodiversity, which includes sightings of various species such as porcupines, crocodiles, and storks.
About Vishwamitri River
- Location: The Vishwamitri River is a small, non-perennial river stretching approximately 200 km in length, located in Gujarat, India.
- Origin: The river originates from the western and southern slopes of the Pavagadh hills in eastern Gujarat.
- It flows westward and passes through Vadodara before joining its two tributaries: Dhadar and Jambuva.
- Ending: It drains into the Arabian Sea through the Gulf of Khambhat.
- Features: It is characterized by its winding, meandering course, which creates a distinctive ecosystem along its banks.
- Wildlife: The river features numerous ravines, teeming with diverse wildlife.
- Species such as porcupines, the common Indian civet, jungle cats, cobras, pythons, checkered keelbacks, and the Bengal monitor can be found in the river’s ravines.
- One of the most notable residents of the Vishwamitri River is the Indian crocodile (Crocodylus palustris), also known as the mugger crocodile.
- The river has been home to this protected species, with an estimated population of 300 muggers recorded in a 2020 survey by the Gujarat Forest Department within the city limits of Vadodara.
About Mugger Crocodiles
- It is one of the 24 remaining species of crocodilians found on earth.
- Naming: Its common name “mugger” is derived from the word “magar,” meaning “water monster” in Hindi and Urdu.
- Habitat: The mugger crocodile is native to freshwater habitats, including marshes, lakes, rivers, and artificial ponds.
- Distribution: The mugger crocodile is found across a broad geographic range, extending from southeastern Iran to Bangladesh in the east, and from Nepal and northern India to Sri Lanka in the south.
- In India, it is present in 15 states, with the largest populations found in the middle Ganges (Bihar-Jharkhand) and Chambal (Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Rajasthan) river basins.
- Threats
- Habitat destruction
- Entanglement and drowning in fishing equipment
- Increasing incidents of conflict with humans
- Conservation Status:
- IUCN: Vulnerable
- CITES: Appendix I
