A peep into India’s biggest crocodile sanctuary

With its 1.22 billion people and variety of cultures, landscapes, monuments and many other places, there are numerous incredible sights in India to be seen and discovered by the visitor. There is the world famous architectural masterpiece of Taj Mahal in Agra, the Pink City of Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, and the pristine beaches […]

With its 1.22 billion people and variety of cultures, landscapes, monuments and many other places, there are numerous incredible sights in India to be seen and discovered by the visitor. There is the world famous architectural masterpiece of Taj Mahal in Agra, the Pink City of Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, and the pristine beaches of Goa. There are also many attractions like mosques, forts and other monuments that represent India’s history in the Old Delhi, among others.
However, another tourist attraction, which gets little or no mention, is the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust and Centre for Herpetology which is located 40 kilometers south of the city of Chennai, in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is reputed to be one of the largest reptile zoos in the world and one of the oldest non government environmental organizations in Asia. The centre comes under the purview of the Central Zoo Authority, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India.
Recently, I was in the south Asian country and had the opportunity of visiting the crocodile bank.
Croc Bank as the centre is also known was founded by the legendary Romulus Whitaker, a herpetologist in 1976, but was first conceived in 1973. The centre, according to its mission, was established to promote the conservation of reptiles and amphibians and their habitats through education, scientific research and captive breeding. Work on the facility began in 1976, “in a desperate effort to save India’s dwindling crocodilian populations,” according to one account.
For me, and many other visitors, the visit to the Madras Crocodile Bank, India’s biggest crocodile sanctuary, was a valuable experience. One probably needs to be inside the centre, which is the first crocodile breeding centre in Asia, to have an idea of how wonderful it feels – and really is.
And on the day of our visit, there were several fun-seekers, many of whom were first timers, including tourists, school teachers, students, holiday makers etc. Thousands of people from different countries are said to visit the bank every day to get firsthand experience of seeing the reptiles at close range.
Paz, a Mexican and a first time visitor to the bank, told me that “I came to India on a visit and decided to come here to see the different species of crocodile. I must say it’s been so revealing and refreshing to be here. They have a rich collection of crocodiles here.”
The popularity of the centre, which is now over three decades, was perhaps reflected in the large crowd that waited to enter the bank. Though people needed to pay for tickets to be admitted into the facility, the crowd of inquisitive tourists who gathered at the entrance was large. The entry fee is Rs. 10 (about N30) for children below the age of 10 and Rs.35 (about N102) for adults. Extra fee is collected from visitors wanting to use their cameras. Guides who keep baby crocodiles and some turtles for people to touch are always on hand.
Inside the centre, the text and illustrations convey information about the species name, physical and social characteristics of the crocodiles as well as the few other reptiles such as snakes (including the Indian rock python) and turtles found there. There are also several species of birds as well.
Separate pits are assigned for different types of crocodile. About 14 species of crocodile are found at the centre. They include mugger, salt-water crocodile, gharial, tomistoma, American alligator and Morelet’s crocodile. Others are spectacled caiman, West African dwarf crocodile, Australian fresh water crocodile, African slender-snouted crocodile, dwarf caiman, Yacare caiman, Nile crocodile and the endangered Siamese crocodile.
The specie that seemed to attract most visitors is the very big salt-water Crocodile, the Jaws III said to be 17 feet (5.2 m) long with a weight of over a ton. The huge expanse of 3.2 hectares is filled with over thousands of crocodiles.
A nine-year-old school girl, who gave her name to me simply as Alice, said: “the sight of the crocodile startled me especially the giant one. Some are very big, some are small and some are average. I was startled, because this is my first time of seeing a crocodile physically.”
Another student, who was watching with interest as Alice was speaking, chipped in almost intuitively. “The crocodiles seemed not to be moved by our presence.” He also said   he was excited to see the crocodiles as well as the turtles, lizards and snakes.
Many visitors have said   they have seen crocodiles mostly on television, which makes the experience of seeing many of them in one place as scary as it was interesting.
The zoo, we were told, attracts thousands of visitors annually, and has been involved in educating people about wildlife and environment. The spacious Croc Bank grounds are covered by luxuriant coastal dune forest and provide a haven for native wildlife, including large breeding colonies of water birds and a secure nesting beach for Olive Ridley Sea Turtles.
According to Wikipedia, the centre has bred thousands of crocodiles since its inception.
The captive breeding program at the crocodile bank was so successful that by the 1990s, there were over 8,000 crocodiles in residence, thousands had been reintroduced to the wild, and more sent to zoos and wildlife parks around the world. The CrocBank has supplied crocodile eggs, snakes, water monitor, lizards and iguanas for breeding programs and for exhibits. The bank also provides surplus reptiles for transferring to other zoos and exchange programs.
Since 1976, over 1,500 crocodiles and several hundred eggs had been supplied to various state forest departments for restocking programmes in the wild and for setting up breeding facilities in other states in India and neighboring countries.