The recent killing of a woman by a crocodile at a village bordering Bhitarkanika wildlife sanctuary in Orissa has brought into sharp focus the increasing forays by the reptiles into rivers and water bodies in thickly populated areas.

The straying of crocodiles away from their habitats was earlier attributed scarcity of food in the sanctuary, especially during monsoon months, but now wildlife experts have added one more reason: Extreme salinity in water in the Bhitarkanika river system.

Disturbed by the increasing salinity level in water in the wildlife sanctuary, the crocodiles are moving towards less saline water-bodies close to human habitation, an official report said.

''The reptiles were never earlier sighted at villages surrounding the Bhitarkanika sanctuary,'' Manoj Kumar Mohapatra, divisional forest officer, Rajnagar mangrove (wildlife) forest division, said.

The Bhitarkanika river system, home to about 2,000 estuarine crocodiles, is now undergoing a hyper-salinity process not conducive to their habitation, Mohapatra said.

He said the crocodile attacks on humans mostly take place during new moon and full moon periods when their habitation corridors get hyper saline.