Agra, Nov 17 (IANS): In a late night operation, Wildlife SOS rescued a nearly 4-feet-long Mugger crocodile after it was spotted near Kondra village in Uttar Pradesh's Firozabad district.

The crocodile was later released into its natural habitat in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Forest Department officials.

On Wednesday night, the Mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris) was sighted in an artificial water hole, following which the villagers informed the conservation organisation.

Equipped with rescue gear, the organisation's Rapid Response Unit travelled over 60 km to reach the location. The team carefully extricated the crocodile, which was found to be healthy.

Kartick Satyanarayan, Co-founder and CEO, Wildlife SOS said, "We have rescued crocodiles from the Firozabad district in the past. As a result, people are aware of their presence. However, spotting a crocodile in the middle of the night can catch anyone off-guard.

"We aim to reduce conflict by making people aware of the reasons which force crocodiles to venture into man-made habitats, and by helping them understand the behaviour of these reptiles. These steps are indispensable to avoid any sort of human-crocodile conflict," he added.

Baiju Raj M.V., Director- Conservation Projects, said, "We are happy to assist the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department in this case and relocate the crocodile to a suitable habitat."

The Mugger crocodile is also known as the Marsh crocodile and has the broadest snout of all the crocodiles found on the planet. The reptile is native to India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and parts of Iran.