Madras Crocodile Bank
The Crocodile Bank is sited at around 44 km away from the capital
city of Tamil Nadu, near Mahabalipuram. It extends over an area of about 3.2
hectares, comprising a wide range of Indian and African crocodiles, alligators
and other reptiles including turtles and snakes. Here, the crocodiles are kept
in their natural habitat. Founded by Romulus Whitaker, the German Biologist in
1976, to conserve the species of crocodiles and alligators which are
endangered, it is provided with lush tropical vegetation for giving ample shade
to these reptiles. At the time of its establishment, the total population of
the crocodiles was only 30. Presently, it has 14 varieties of crocodiles, 12
species of turtles and 5 types of snakes, with total number of 2,400 reptiles
in the Crocodile Bank.
Indian varieties of crocodiles namely the Mugger – Crocodylus
Paluster, which is 3.6 meter long and is commonly found, the Ghariyal –
Gavialis Gangeticus, which is 4-5 meter long and has the longest jaw and the
saltwater Crocodile – Crocodylus Porosus, the largest of reptiles contribute
significantly to the total population in the bank. It also includes Morlet's
crocodile from Mexico, American Alligator from Africa, Dwarf crocodile from
Africa and the Siamese crocodile. The bank is one of the most popular tourist
spots where visitors come in a large number every year to watch different
reptiles in their natural surroundings and since all the creatures are kept in
open pools, they can be easily observed from a safe proximity.
However, the main spot of attraction is the Crocodile Conservation
Centre, which is the largest breeding locale of crocodiles in India and since
its origination; thousands of crocodiles have bred here. This bank also houses
a Snake Farm, where anti-venom is produced. The Irula Snake Catchers'
Industrial Cooperative Society has a show of venom extraction on daily basis
which is a source great enthrallment for the visitors. The process of venom
extraction was started on 16th December 1982 and now, the place has become the
largest venom-producing centre in India with an annual turnover of US $ 15,000.
The place is also thinking to conserve green anacondas under an international
exchange programme. So for this, four adult green anacondas of an average length
of 4 metres are brought from the Danish Crocodile Exhibition held in Denmark in
exchange of marsh crocodiles, the gharials and the African slender snouted
crocodiles.
Besides all this, the bank also conducts research on the biology
of crocodiles, alligators, turtles and observes lizards. Honoured with the Ford
Conservation and Environmental Grant 2001 for the project 'Integrated
Environment Education', a multi-lingual programme on the preservation of
reptiles to create an environmental awareness has further made it a
not-to-be-missed attraction among the tourists. The authorities are also
planning to set up a second bank on the western coast of India, in Goa, along
with planning to get four new varieties of crocodiles, including black caimans,
smooth-fronted caimans, Cuban crocodiles and broad-snouted caimans.
Initially established as a kind of research place to study
Crocodiles; it’s on 3.2 hectares land ; is now one of the world’s better known
Crocodile breeding centers. More than 2400 crocodiles 14 are different species
of crocodile. It also is snake breeding and poison extraction centre. Poison
extracted here is sent worldwide for medicinal uses.
Madras Crocodile Bank Trust
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Abbreviation
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Croc Bank
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Motto
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To promote the conservation of reptiles and amphibians and their
habitats through education, scientific research and captive breeding
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Formation
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1976
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Type
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Legal status
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Nonprofit public trust
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Purpose
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Herpetofaunal conservation, research and education
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Headquarters
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Chennai
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Location
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Region served
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Official language
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Tamil, English
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Founder/director/trustee
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Main organ
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Board of Trustees
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Affiliations
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Snake Specialist Group, Crocodile Specialist group, Tortoise and
Freshwater Turtles Specialist Group, Marine Turtle Specialist Group, Indian
Subcontinent Reptile & Amphibian Group, Captive Breeding Specialist
Group, Sustainable Use of Wild Species Group.
|
Staff
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49
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Website
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The Madras Crocodile Bank Trust and Centre for
Herpetology (MCBT) is a reptile zoo and herpetology research station, located 40 kilometers
(25 mi) south of the city of Chennai, in state of Tamil Nadu, India. The centre is both a registered trust and a recognized zoo under
the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and is India's leading institution for
herpeto faunal conservation, research and education. The bank is the first
crocodile breeding centre in Asia and comes under the purview of the Central
Zoo Authority, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. It
was established with the aim of saving three Indian endangered species of crocodile—the marsh or mugger crocodile, the saltwater crocodile, and
the gharial, which at the time of founding of the trust were all nearing
extinction.
The Croc Bank grounds are covered by coastal dune forest providing
a haven for native wildlife, including large breeding colonies of water birds
and a secure nesting beach for Olive Ridley sea turtles. The high aquifer on the sandy coast provides
sufficient water supply and the proximity to the major tourist destination of
Mahabalipuram ensures annual visitation. The centre is the biggest
crocodile sanctuary in India. It covers 8.5 acres (3.4 ha) and had
over 450,000 visitors in 2007. The centre has one of the world's largest
collections of crocodiles and alligators and has bred 5,000 crocodiles and
alligators representing 14 of the 23 existing species, including the three
crocodile species, all considered endangered, that are native to India. As of
2011, the Croc Bank has a total of 2,483 animals, including 14 species of
crocodiles, 10 species of turtles, 3 species of snakes, and 1 species of
lizard.
History
Large-scale commercial hunting of Indian crocodilians for their
skin began towards the end of the 19th century, and by the 1970s, crocodile
populations were severely depleted. The Madras Crocodile Bank was conceived in
1973 and started on 26 August 1976 by herpetologist Romulus Whitaker and his wife Zai Whitaker at the time when the
Indian government protected all three species of Indian crocodilians under the
Wild Life Protection Act of 1972.
The real push for captive breeding of crocodiles came after the
launch of the Indian Crocodile Conservation Project by the Indian government in
collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
in 1975. The bank was started to protect India's dwindling crocodile population
and to preserve the art of snake catching. Along with other like-minded people
such as Rajamani, Whitaker founded the bank to conserve the three species of
reptiles namely, the mugger (Crocodylus palustris), gharial (Gavialis Gangeticus), and the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus
porosus).
The Croc Bank developed a captive breeding program for freshwater
turtles and tortoises in 1981 and it successfully bred gharials for the
first time in 1989.
In 1984, the bank collaborated with Dr. J.W. Lang from University of North Dakota, who initiated a major project on the reproductive biology of the
mugger crocodile. The research infrastructure at the bank was augmented by the
funds for this project, chiefly a well-equipped laboratory and the
collaboration with the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology. This project
was continued every year between 1984 and 1994 by Harry Andrews under the
supervision of Dr. Lang, who made periodic visits to the bank. The project
currently focuses on reptile reproduction, egg incubation, and temperature-dependent
sex determination. A 3-year study of the biology and conservation of the mugger
crocodile was conducted in the wild and a field station was established on
the Moyar River near Bhavanisagar in Tamil Nadu.
Since 1987, studies on breeding biology and growth of lizards,
particularly the larger monitor lizards, were conducted in collaboration with
researchers in the United Kingdom & Germany. During the period 1989-1991, amphibian’s studies were carried
out on the species Rana hexadactyla, which was featured in BBC Wildlife
Magazine in 1996. In 1990, the MCBT newsletter was transformed into a
scientific journal, with an international editorial board and a rigorous
peer-review system for the acceptance of technical papers for publication.
In 1992, a scientific committee consisting of scientists and
trustees was instituted and is charged with directing and coordinating
research. In 1993, the bank conducted surveys on wetlands and remote area
sensing. This was followed by extensive studies on sea snakes, marine turtles,
bats, and other small mammals and studies on herpetofauna, biogeography,
resource use, land use, rain-water harvesting and coral reef socioeconomics, in
addition to protected area management planning, ecologically suitable
management planning.
The bank was started with only 30 mugger adults, which grew to
8,000 by the 1990s. Although the breeding program was a great success and many
crocodiles were initially released back into the wild, this practice has essentially
stopped now due to the loss of habitat. By 2010, there were 14 species of
crocodilians at the bank.
In 1989, as a division of the Bank, the Andaman and Nicobar Environmental
Team (ANET) base station was set up on 5 acres (2.0 ha) of
land in Wandoor, on the southern tip of South Andaman Island to conduct research programs towards understanding of
the diversity, distribution, and ecology of the islands' fauna and flora. In
2003, with the addition of turtles, lizards and snakes, the bank was renamed
the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust and Center for Herpetology. The centre is
one of the largest reptile zoos in the world.
In 2005, Rom Whitaker was given a Whitley Award and
used the money to set up the Agumbe Rainforest Research Station (ARRS) to help preserve the hyper-diverse animals and ecosystems
that make up the rainforest of the Western Ghats. In 2006, Rom was presented with the Sanctuary-ABN AMRO
Lifetime Service Award.
Location and visitors
The Croc Bank is situated 40 kilometers (25 mi) south of
Chennai on the East Coast Road at Vadanemmeli near Thiruvidandhai, close to the Bay of Bengal, on the way to Mamallapuram. In 2010-2011, the Croc Bank received 367,574 visitors, including
13,794 foreign visitors, with maximum number visiting in the month of January,
when 53,763 people visited the zoological park. This includes 15,780 students
and 1,854 teachers from 258 schools visiting the park.
Objectives
The Madras Crocodile Bank Trust's stated objectives are as
follows:
Ø The conservation of nature and natural resources in the broadest
sense, with particular focus on the conservation of herpetofauna and their
habitats.
Ø To establish breeding, research, educational, dissemination and
transfer centers, field stations, and other establishments focusing on
ecological and environmental issues.
Activities
One of the main attractions of the bank is the Crocodile
Conservation Center. It is the largest breeding center of crocodiles in India and
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 Croc Bank has supplied crocodile eggs, snakes, water monitors,
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 have 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.
All three of the original species that were bred at the bank (the
mugger, gharial and the saltwater crocodile) remain endangered, while the
gharial is critically endangered and now faces extinction. The Croc Bank
also successfully breeds several species of threatened turtles, including two listed as critically endangered. The bank is
a coordinating zoo of the Central Zoo Authority of India for the breeding
programmes for endangered species, including rock python, king cobra and Ganges soft shell turtle,
as per the National Zoo Policy adopted by the Government of India in
1988.
The National Zoo Policy (1998) states several objectives that zoos
should pursue including education, publications, and breeding rare &
endangered species. In 2010, the Bank also bred the rare Tomistoma crocodile, which is in the Red List of the International
Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
In 2003, a 10-year program for the conservation of freshwater
turtles and tortoises was initiated by the bank in collaboration with
government forest departments from concerned states across India. In May 2004,
the bank successfully bred one of the world's most critically endangered
turtles, the Indian painted roof turtle, Batagur kachuga, for the first
time ever in captivity. The species is protected under Schedule I of the
Indian Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 and is listed under the Action Plan
Rating I of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. The
bank is home to another near endemic Batagur turtle, Batagur baska.
Incidentally, recent evidence suggests that this species is
extinct in the wild and only 13 individuals remain in captivity, including 4
adult females of which 2 are at the Croc Bank. The bank sends 50% of its
stock of the red-crowned roof turtle to the Uttar Pradesh forest department to
introduce into the wild. In 2004, concerned parties created the Gharial
Multi-Task Force (renamed to Gharial Conservation Alliance in 2008) to create a
specialist organization dedicated to saving gharials from extinction.
Research in freshwater turtles and tortoises in India—home to 28
species of freshwater turtles and tortoises some of which are extremely
endangered—started in the early 1980s when Prof. Edward Moll of Eastern Illinois University accepted an Indo-American Fellowship for a year-long
sabbatical and based his studies and surveys, conducted throughout India, at
the Croc Bank. The bank's research biologists have studied freshwater turtles
in the Chambal River in Uttar Pradesh on a WWF-India grant. A total of 300 individuals of 20
species are kept as part of the Centre's ongoing research program. In
addition, the bank also conducts research on the biology of crocodiles, turtles
and monitors lizards.
The Croc Bank runs two permanent and fully staffed field bases
(the Andaman and Nicobar Environmental Team and the Agumbe Rainforest Research Station) and usually also has several field projects running.
The park is home to one of the only approved snake venom
extraction centres in India, the Irula Snake Catchers' Industrial Cooperative
Society, which has a daily venom extraction show for the public at its snake
farm. The cooperative society was officially registered on 19 December
1978, and venom extraction was started on 16 December 1982. Started with
26 members, the membership of the society rose to 350 by 2001, and the society
now has about 344 members and is the largest venom-producing center in
India with annual sales of over US$15,000.
The bank is planning to procure green anacondas under an international exchange programme. Four adult green
anacondas, with an average length of 4 metres (13 ft), are being brought
for the first time from the Danish Crocodile Exhibition in Denmark in exchange for marsh crocodiles, critically endangered
gharials and African slender snouted crocodiles. As part of the efforts to give
due importance to its exhibition potential, along with education and research,
the bank was also engaged in talks with some conservation and breeding centres
to procure Komodo dragons. The
bank also plans to get as many as 21 spotted pond turtles from Hong Kong.
The bank conducts environmental education programme for schools
and villages including nature camps, field trips, education programmes for the
nature clubs, training workshops for teachers, youth from fishing villages and
other resource personnel. Frequent mobile exhibition-cum-awareness programmes
for the nearby fishing villages along the East Coast Road are also conducted. The bank also has a multi-puppet theatre
facility for children.
The bank publishes a biannual herpetology journal called Hamadryad
and is home to the largest library of herpetological literature in India. Research
in the field of herpetology within the bank has resulted in over 600 scientific
publications, books, reports, newspaper and magazine articles and
films. The bank also has an animal-adoption programme. The Croc Bank
serves as a consultant on reptile management and conservation issues by a wide
range of organizations including Food and Agriculture Organisation, World Wide Fund for Nature, IUCN, National Geographic Society and the governments of India, Papua New Guinea, Bangladesh, Mozambique, Malaysia, Indonesia, Bhutan, Brunei, Sri Lanka and Nepal.
A partial listing of the institutions that the Croc Bank is
affiliated with, including committees, membership, collaboration, consultation,
editorial, and networking, as of 2011:
Ø IUCN/SSC Crocodile Specialist Group
Ø IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtles Specialist Group
Ø IUCN/SSC Marine Turtle Specialist Group
Ø IUCN/SSC Indian Subcontinent Reptile & Amphibian Group
Ø IUCN/SSC Captive Breeding Specialist Group
Ø IUCN/SSC Sustainable Use of Wild Species Group
Ø Andaman & Nicobar Islands 'Monitoring Committee for the
Working Plan for the South Andaman Division'.
Ø Ashoka Innovators for the Public, New Delhi
Exhibits
The bank is home to 14 species of the 23 crocodilian species
living across the world, two of which are listed by the IUCN as critically
endangered and three more as threatened. The 14 crocodile species available in
the bank are mugger (Crocodylus palustris), salt-water crocodile (Crocodylus
porosus), gharial (Gavialis Gangeticus), tomistoma (Tomistoma schlegelii), American alligator (Alligator
mississippiensis),Morelet's crocodile (Crocodylus
Moreletii), spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodilus), West African dwarf crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis), Australian fresh water crocodile
(Crocodylus Johnsoni), African slender-snouted crocodile (Mecistops
cataphractus), dwarf caiman (Paleosuchus
palpebrosus), Yacare caiman (Caiman yacare), Nile crocodile (Crocodylusniloticus) and the endangered Siamese crocodile(Crocodylus siamensis).
The bank currently houses over 2,400 crocodiles and also many
species of turtles, snakes, and lizards which are viewable by the public. The bank houses 12
endangered species of turtles and tortoises and 5 species of snakes,
including king cobra (Ophiophagus
hannah), Asian water monitors (Varanus
salvator), two species of pythons, and albino cobras. Of the 5,000 reptiles bred at the Bank, 3,000 represent the
native Indian species Crocodylus palustris, known as muggers. One of the biggest attractions of the park is a fierce
salt-water crocodile known as Jaws III.
This species, believed to be the biggest in southern Asia, is
17 feet (5.2 m) long and weighs over a ton. The bank is also going to get
four new species of crocodiles. These are black caimans, Smooth-fronted caimans, Cuban crocodiles and Broad-snouted caimans. Anacondas will also appear at the bank.
Reptile stock at the Croc Bank as on 1 April 2011 is as follows:
Common
name (Species)
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Total
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Crocodilians
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Mugger or marsh crocodile (Crocodylus palustris)
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2115
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Saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus)
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12
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Gharial (Gavialis Gangeticus)
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55
|
Common caiman (Caiman Crocodylus)
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56
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Yacare caiman (Caiman yacare)
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3
|
Dwarf Caiman (Paleosuchus palpebrosus)
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13
|
American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)
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2
|
Siamese crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis)
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9
|
Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus)
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7
|
African slender-snouted crocodile (Mecistops
cataphractus)
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6
|
West-African dwarf crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis)
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3
|
Morelett's crocodile (Crocodylus moreletti)
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13
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False gharial (Tomistoma schlegelii)
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2
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Australian fresh-water crocodile (Crocodylus Johnsoni)
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1
|
Total
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2302
|
Freshwater turtles
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|
Indian soft shelled turtle (Nilssonia gangetica)
|
9
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Indian flap shell turtle (Lissemys punctata)
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13
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River terrapin (Batagur baska)
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2
|
Red-crowned roof turtle (Batagur kachuga)
|
72
|
Indian roofed turtle (Pangshura tecta)
|
2
|
Indian roofed turtle (Pangshura tecta circumdata)
|
17
|
Crowned river turtle (Hardella thurjii)
|
2
|
Indian Start tortoise (Geochelone elegans)
|
8
|
Travancore tortoise (Indotestudo travancorica)
|
23
|
Aldabra Giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea)
|
4
|
Total
|
152
|
Snakes
|
|
Indian rock python (Python molurus)
|
26
|
Reticulated python (Python reticulatus)
|
1
|
Spectacled cobra (Albino) (Naja naja)
|
1
|
Total
|
28
|
Lizards
|
|
Caiman Lizard (Dracena guanensis)
|
1
|
Total
|
1
|
Total specimens
|
2483
|
The bank plans to introduce a night safari between 7 p.m. and 8.30
p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The visitors can observe the crocodiles during
the night time, splashing water, jaw-slapping or reclaiming territories. They
will be taught counting crocs in the night by counting the bright eye shines.
The centre also plans to have on display the Aldabras tortoises from the
islands of Seychelles.
The bank also functions as a natural shelter for a variety of
birds, enabling bird-watching.
Animal care
The Croc Bank has a veterinary care section with an onsite vet.
The veterinary staff coordinates with the curatorial staff ensuring health and
maintenance of the animals. Pathological and parasitological examinations are
carried out on all the animals on a routine basis and a regular screening and
treatment protocol is followed.
Individual animals are given a unique identification number by
means of pit tags which helps keep track of the animal's medical history.
Capacity building in the form of reptile-centric veterinary training is carried
out at the Croc Bank on a regular basis to help equip zoos and conservation
projects throughout India with the necessary skills for proper reptile
management.
Researches
The Bank acts as a large outdoor laboratory and provides opportunity
to observe and document the reptiles' features, behavior, social interactions,
and breeding biology at close range. Select enclosures are wired to record all
the basic environmental parameters to facilitate studies on the biology of the
reptiles at the Bank.
The Bank has served as a regional source of status information for
the World Conservation Monitoring Centre and has hosted numerous international
meetings of the IUCN Specialist Groups dealing with reptiles. Since 1978, the
centre has also hosted numerous local and international specialists.
Awards and grants
The Croc Bank was awarded the Ford Conservation and Environmental
Grant for the year 2001 for project "Integrated Environment
Education", a multi-lingual programme on reptile preservation to create an
environmental awareness.
The future
The Croc Bank, along with the Arignar Anna Zoological Park, Chennai Snake Park and
the Mysore Zoo, is slated to become a
nodal point for captive breeding of endangered pythons in the country,
especially the Indian rock python (Python
molurus) and reticulated python (Python
reticulatus).
In January 2010, the Croc Bank has started constructing a new
frontage and satellite facility. This will be followed by the complete redesign
and construction of the main display area including new enclosures, walkways
and interactive features. The bank is also planning to open a second bank
in Goa, on India's western coast.
In February 2013, a new master plan for a major renovation, which
was developed upon the request by the Central Zoo Authority, was approved by
the government. Per the new plan, estimated at Rs 100 million and to take
four years to complete, the park will be divided into geographical areas,
namely, Asia, Americas, Amazon and Africa, with thematic landscaping and signage,
a sweeping gharial river exhibit, a walkway over the crocodile marsh, and an
underwater viewing area, in addition to a grand entry plaza with a café and a
new parking area.
A new interpretation centre, to be built in two levels, will have
small crocs, snakes, turtles and lizards on the upper level and underwater
viewing of Jaws III, the largest saltwater crocodile exhibit in the park, on
the lower level. It will also have interactive displays of various aspects of
croc biology, conservation and general reptile information. The Amazon section
will feature all crocs from the region as well as snakes such as anacondas and
boa constrictors and fish like piranhas.
Important Info
Accessibility: It is on East Coast Road 44 Kms, from Chennai 5 Kms from Kovalam.
Visiting time: 8.30 am to 5.30 pm - Monday
holiday.
Entry: Rs 20.00
Contact Address:
Madras Crocodile Bank Trust,
Centre for Herpetology, Mamallapuram-603 104,
Tamil Nadu, S. India
Ph: +91-044-27472447.
Fax: +91-044-27472958
Payal Narain
Projects coordinator
+91 – 9884086884
