About Vishwamitri River:
- It is a small non-perennial river located in Gujarat.
- It drains into the Arabian Sea via the Gulf of Khambhat.
- The highly meandering, sinuous river has a unique ecosystem bearing a plethora of beautiful ravines right from its beginning till its end.
- Porcupines, the common Indian civet, the jungle cat, cobras, pythons, the checkered keelback, and the Bengal monitor are some of the species found in the ravines on the banks of this river.
- Vishwamitri is also where the protected and vulnerable species of the Indian crocodile (Crocodylus palustris), also known as the mugger, resides.
Key Facts about Mugger Crocodiles:
- It is one of the 24 extant species of crocodilians found globally.
- The crocodile’s common name comes from magar, which translates loosely to “water monster” in the Hindi and Urdu languages.
- Distribution:
- The mugger’s geographic range extends from extreme southeastern Iran eastward to Bangladesh and from Nepal and northern India south to Sri Lanka.
- In India its largest populations are found in the middle Ganges (Bihar-Jharkhand) and Chambal (Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan) basins.
- Habitat:
- It is most commonly found in freshwater environments such as rivers, lakes, hill streams, and village ponds.
- It can live in fresh water and coastal saltwater lagoons.
- This species makes burrows on land in a wide variety of habitats.
- Conservation Status:
- IUCN Red List: Vulnerable
