ECONOMIC TIMES (New Delhi, India) 30 November 09 White crocodile to be mascot at the National Youth Festival (Nageshwar Patnaik)

Thirty-four-year-old Gori, India’s only captive white crocodile living in Orissa’s Bhitarkanika National Park will be the mascot for the National Youth Festival scheduled to be held here from January 8 to 12, 2010.

The national steering committee for the festival held at New Delhi on Monday gave its nod to a proposal in this regards, a press release issued by the chief minister’s office here said.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik who co-chaired the meeting with union sports minister M.S.Gill expressed his happiness over Gori being chosen as the mascot saying that it was an honour to the state.

The logo and mascot of the festival will be unveiled in Bhubaneswar during second week of December, 2009.

About four thousand youths from all the states and union territories will fight for honours in about 17 categories of cultural items in both classical, semi-classical and folk arts during the mega festival.

The theme of the festival proposed by Orissa – ‘Celebrating Diversity’ - was well received by the steering committee.

The festival logo depicts six youths portraying the “unity in diversity” and “plurality” nature of India, the statement said.

Acclaimed as country’s lone captive white crocodile, Gori has been in the limelight over the years for her typical behavioral instinct. Living in isolation since its birth in the sanctuary since 1975, the female crocodile was in news last year for laying 30 eggs. However, the eggs lacked fertility contents and potency for procreation.

The reptile had shunned mating habits despite several attempts made by forest personnel. Things reached tragic proportion in the past as Gori had violently attacked her male partner that had been released into the pen for mating purpose. Gori lost its left eye in the clash with the male partner.

The enigmatic Gori had put the wildlife personnel in tight spot in past years for its poor health. There was a proposal that was deferred earlier last year to release the species in the wild so that it may regain its health in natural environment.

The 34-year-old crocodile, which has whitish patches all over the body, had been hatched and bred by the forest department as a part of crocodile conservation programme.
White crocodile to be mascot at the National Youth Festival

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