Gando: Iran crocodile

Here are some other photos of Gando's habitat and stuff

                        The beautiful "Firouz-abad" billabong, in the middle of nowhere

                         Calm waters of the "Garm-bit" billabong

                         Other species living in Gando's habitat: The fascinating Striped Squirrel                   

                       Me, holding a juvenile Gando, in the "Dargas" croc pond

Crocodile attacks occur really rare in Iran.
A 10-year-old boy had been killed in a rare attack by a marsh crocodile some years ago.
He was swimming in a river with friends in a conservation reserve in the south-east of the country.
The Marsh or Mugger Crocodile of Iran, known by local people as "Gando", grows up to four metres (13 feet) in length and has a reputation for timidity.
Local officials expressed surprise over the attack.
It was "a very rare and shocking incident since we feed the crocodiles with fish, chickens and even baby goats," the director of the local environmental office
was quoted as saying.
"The animal must have been agitated by the swimmers," he said.
As I talked to locals personally, they told me sometimes crocs are so bold to enter the back yard of the house. In addition, they reported me an attack incidence
in which the victim lost his leg. Attacks to the cattle occur normally by the crocs in which rural people are angry about that. Obviously these reports are not published
officially anywhere, but these are locals' exact words telling me about crocs in their home range.

Here are some photos of Gando and his territory in Southern Iran

                                 Gando is basking on the river-side under the sun

                               A captured Gando to be removed

                           A captured sick Gando to be treated

                             Firooz-abad billabong, Gando's habitat in Southern Iran

                                      Baby Gando in a little governmental crocodile farm

More photos are coming soon . . .

Throughout our beautiful world; deep down the blue seas, high in the cerulean sky, on the green ground, dark under the ground and everywhere breathing is possible, diverse creatures live in various ways. There are many flora and fauna species unknown even after many years of advanced scientific progress and discoveries. Any second is accomplished a new progress. Nowadays, thousands of diverse animals and plants are discovered through scientific and environmental technologies. The creature is going to be discussed and analyzed here is a spectacular significant splendid and man-eating species with high adaptation habits survived from some prehistoric eras. Crocodilia is an order belongs to reptilian and amphibian group. Generally Crocodilia order is consist of 23 species classified in 3 families and 8 genera. I will state and explain all the crocodilian species here; but as an introduction I have to say that Crocodiles are the biggest reptiles in the whole world. Amongst the Crocodilians, the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) from Asia and Australia is the largest of all reaching 6 meters in length and a ton in weight. This species plus the Nile crocodile (C. niloticus) are number one man-eaters in the crocodilia order. The smallest crocodilian species is known as Cuvier’s dwarf caiman (Paleosuchus palpebrosus) reaching totally 1.5 meters in length. After all, the main goal here in this blog is to talk about a crocodile species living in Iran. Unfortunately, many significant distinctive Persian (means form Iran) animal species extinct throughout years just because there were no education and awareness of how worthy and significant they are. Some of the Persian extinct animal species include the big Caspian tiger (Panthera tigris virgata) and the splendid Asiatic or Persian lion (Panthera leo persica) which we just regret for losing them. Some species like Asiatic leopard and cheetah are also endangered in Iran which are preserved through conservation programs and projects (Asiatic cheetah conservation project). I can also mention the Black bear in southern Iran which is not protected yet. Of the well-protected species include Brown bear in northern Iran and some Deer species (especially Persian fallow deer) and so on. Now I think it’s better to talk about the main goal of this blog. The crocodile species living in Iran is known as Mugger, Marsh, Swamp and Snub-nosed crocodile with scientific name Crocodylus palustris. Here in southern Iran (the animal habitat) it’s known as Gando (which we refer to from now on). The Gando habitat range is the most southeastern spot of Iran on the map: Sarbaz, Kajo, Bahukalat Rivers and its branches and also in some dams like Pishin dam. The body length of this species differs from habitat to habitat (for example mugger crocodile in India is much bigger than Iran), but the average length could be 2 to 3 meters. The global range of mugger crocodile is India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and of course Iran. Gando lives mainly in calm and low-current billabongs, ponds and rives and stay in the water for most of the times. But sometimes he comes out of the water to bask, hunt, thermogulation, nesting and laying eggs. He lies on the sandy riverside and gape his mouth to rest and receiving heat from the sun; at the same time birds and insects come to a feast between the croc’s teeth and feed there! In this way both the croc (for cleaning his teeth) and birds (for feeding free) are happy! The tail is very powerful and is able to drag a cow to the water or break an adult human’s leg bone easily. Sometimes the crocodile’s habitat is much near to the local people and thus there are conflicts between the man and the beast; it’s frequent in crocodile living states like Florida (USA) or Gujarat (India). For instance a murder incidence was recorded in Iran in which a 7 year old boy was killed by a mugger crocodile while swimming in a crocodile billabong. A number of attacks by Gando are recorded in southern Iran in which sometimes the injury was serious (like losing a leg). We should know that all the attack incidences were possible to prevent through appropriate education. After all, Gando is a quiet, calm and shy animal to the locals and there is less conflict between them in general. There is a friendly relationship between locals and Gando in such a way that the animal has a safe life beside them. The total number of mugger crocodiles in Iran is estimated around 250 to 350. In the end, I’d be glad to receive your opinions and comments.