Mugger  (Crocodylus palustris)

Muggers have been used in traditional Indian medicine, and have been hunted for sport and for their skin, particularly during the 1950s and 1960s. Hunting for their skin was the major factor that contributed to the decline of the mugger, but it is no longer the primary pressure on this species (5). Habitat destruction for agricultural and industrial development (2), egg predation by humans and drowning in fishing nets are the current threats that face the mugger (5).

All wild populations of mugger are legally protected, and management programs intended to restore populations have been very successful (5). Widespread captive breeding programs have restocked wild populations and now have a surplus of captive-bred crocodiles as suitable habitat is limited. The Mugger Management Project in Similipal, India was started in 1979 and was able to rebuild populations, provide muggers for restocking elsewhere, and resort eventually to farming the crocodiles (6). The Indian government has now called an end to all captive breeding programs in India (2).