During the month of April this year,
I happened to be at Chennai (Madras). One day my extended family members evinced
interest to visit Mahabalipuram (A World Heritage Site) and wanted me to show
them around. I readily accepted for they believed in my credibility to be
their guide. While proceeding to Mahabalipuram, after travelling 45 kilometres,
there is the Madras Crocodile Bank. Since I could not visit this place earlier,
I decided to make a short break thereat. We parked our vehicle at the parking
slot and entered the sanctuary after buying our tickets.
There was a time when the crocodile
population in India was dwindling. Some feared that they may also become species
near extinction. With a view to protect and conserve crocodiles, alligators and
other reptiles this farm was established way back in 1976. Incidentally this is
a private initiative and not by the Government. The credit goes to Romulus
Whitaker, the famous herpetologist, who was instrumental in its establishment
along with few like minded friends.
To begin with some 30 crocodiles were
brought here and due to the conservation efforts the population is now around
5000. Perhaps now it is going to be a problem of plenty. Apart from the Indian
species of Crocodiles and Alligators, their cousins from around the world have
been brought in. However they seem to enjoy better and spacious surroundings as
compared to their Indian counter parts. This centre is claimed to be largest zoo
of such reptiles in the whole world.
Incidentally the water bodies as also the whole place
stinks and one has to muster a lot of endurance to withstand. While searching
for an answer I found the place has very many big shady trees and thousands of
cranes have made them their home. Their droppings are the reasons behind the
problem. While visiting this place one needs to wear a cap or cover the head for
protection.
As is well known, India is also a home for venomous
snakes. There is a community in Tamilnadu known as “Irulas” who are very skilled
in catching venomous snakes. To conserve their art and provide them a kind of
livelihood, Mr. Whitaker got them united and formed a Cooperative Society. They
have a separate enclosure in the sanctuary where they regularly bring the snakes
and and keep them in pots. They extract the venom which costs anywhere between
Rs.1000 to Rs.5000 per gm. Visitors are also shown the process involved.