Crocodile Juliet on Friday laid 52 eggs at the Karamjal Wildlife Breeding Centre in the Chandpai Range of the Eastern Sundarbans.
For the 15th time, Juliet laid eggs beside the pond of the breeding centre, confirmed Azad Kabir, in-charge of Karamjal Wildlife Breeding Centre.
"Of the eggs, 14 were kept in Juliet's own cage for them to hatch naturally. Meanwhile, of the remaining ones, 26 were kept in the old incubator and 12 in a new incubator for them to hatch artificially," he said.
The Karamjal Wildlife Breeding Centre—country’s only crocodile breeding facility—started its journey in 2002—for the reproduction and preservation of near-extinct saltwater crocodiles.
Under the government’s biodiversity conservation project, the facility was established on eight acres which had cost Tk32 lakh.
Initially, the facility began its activities by bringing in crocodiles accidentally caught in fishermen’s nets.
Currently, there are a total of 195 crocodiles—including adults and cubs—at the Karamjal Wildlife Breeding Centre.
Two females named Juliet and Pilpil and one male named Romeo are being used to breed crocodiles at the breeding centre.