Crocodile spotted feeding on goat in Sundarbans, tourist captures video

A tourist has captured rare footage of a crocodile feeding on a goat in the Sundarbans, days after separate videos of Bengal tigers roaming the forest drew widespread attention.

The 27-second video was recorded on Saturday around noon in the Dhangmari Canal near the Gaghramari Forest Office under the Sundarbans East Forest Division. The footage, showing the crocodile eating the goat in the canal, has since spread on social media.

According to local sources, the video was filmed by a member of a five-member tourist group travelling by boat from a forest resort to Karamjal.

Md Sakib Hossain, owner of Bonobibi Forest Resort at Gaghramari, said the tourists noticed the crocodile while passing through the canal and one of them recorded the scene on a mobile phone.

He said goats and cattle from nearby villages often come to the canal to graze or drink water, and crocodiles occasionally drag goats into the water.

Officer-in-Charge of the Gaghramari Forest Patrol Outpost Shah Mohammad Abdullah confirmed that the video was recorded in the Dhangmari Dolphin Sanctuary area.

He, however, said it could not be confirmed whether the crocodile had hunted the goat or was feeding on the carcass, noting that villagers sometimes dispose of dead livestock in nearby canals.

Officials said saltwater crocodiles inhabit the rivers and canals of the Sundarbans.

Azad Kabir, officer-in-charge of the Karamjal Wildlife Breeding Centre, said 209 crocodiles bred at the centre were released into the Sundarbans between 2011 and 2023.

He said the breeding centre currently houses 79 crocodiles, including three aged between 36 and 46 years and 76 others aged between three and 10 years. However, he said the exact number of crocodiles currently living in the Sundarbans is unknown.

The latest sighting comes after several recent videos of Bengal tigers were recorded in the Sundarbans. On 26 July, forest staff filmed a tiger swimming in a river at Tiger Point in the Kochikhali Sanctuary, while on 24 July another tiger was spotted roaming near a Forest Department office in the Andharmanik tourist area.