India, July 20 -- The horrifying death of a young boy, Sunil Singh, in a mugger crocodile attack in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh left many saddened but also intrigued.

Just two years ago, national headlines were abuzz with news of wolf attacks in... you guessed it right, Bahraich.

From Indian wolves to mugger crocodiles, what makes Bahraich such a rich repository of the country's wildlife?

The answer is geography. Bahraich lies in the heart of the Terai, those marshy lowlands that straddle southern Nepal and northern India. They stretch right along the Himalayan border of the country, from the Yamuna in the west to the Brahmaputra in the east.

It is the water and moisture in the Terai (itself meaning 'moist land') that is responsible for i...