The Chennai Crocodile Bank is located 42-km from Chennai (Madras). The Crocodile Bank is about 35 km south of Chennai (Madras) city on the lovely East Coast Highway, on the way to Mamallapuram. Coming from Chennai, it is about 5 km beyond Kovalam and 14 km before Mamallapuram. The Crocodile Bank is spread over an area of 3.2 hectares and has been accomplished with an aim to protect and conserve the endangered reptiles such as Crocodiles, Alligators, etc.
The Chennai Crocodile Bank was established in 1976 by herpetologist Romulus Whitaker. The bank has successfully produced more than 6,000 crocodiles. In the bank, there's also a snake farm where anti - venom is produced. Various species of Indian and African Crocodiles and Alligators are kept here in open pools. The extracting of snake venom is a great attraction to the visitors and it also helps the Irulas, the tribe of snake catchers, to earn a living .
The Chennai Crocodile Bank provides a green bed of lush tropical vegetation. This vegetation is like a shade to the thousands of crocodiles. The major attraction at the Chennai Crocodile Bank is the crocodile conservation center, which is the largest croc-breeding site in India.
The Crocodile Bank in Chennai, has several species of Indian and African crocodiles and alligators. It provides shelter to about 5,000 species of Crocodiles, which are kept in their natural environment in open pools. They can be viewed from a safe distance.Presently, the bank owns about seven crocodile species including the three Indian types. Some of the Indian species found here are the 3.6 meter long Marsh/Mugger variety which is mostly found in all lowland water systems including the arid State of Rajasthan, the Gharials - four to five meter long with the longest jaw having a pot like nose and the Saltwater Crocodiles - eight meters long and 900 kilogram's in weight considered the largest of reptiles, are found in the andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Sunderbans in West Bengal and in coastal Orissa.
These hated animals are known to perform a significant ecological role. These so called demons help to lift up the genetic quality of prey by selective feeding on the sick, weak and injured fish. The Crocodile Bank, also distributes scientific information gathered from its on-going research projects on the biology of crocodiles. The bank also conducts research on turtles and monitor lizards, these are the crocodile's environmental partners, found in common habitats. In India, there are about 26 species of turtles, many of which are endangered.
The Crocodiles are captivated here for the purpose of breeding and subsequently releasing them in their natural surrounding. These predators are left in the protected sites mostly in the rivers of Chambal, Mahanadi and in Andhra Pradesh. But releasing them in unprotected sites is not feasible. But at Chennai Crocodile Bank these earliest of reptiles are absolutely safe.
