Herpetologist Romulus Whitaker has alleged that a critically endangered Cuban crocodile died at his ‘Madras Crocodile Bank Trust’ following loud music played at a star hotel in the outskirts of Chennai.
Herpetologist Romulus Whitaker has alleged that a critically endangered Cuban crocodile died at his ‘Madras Crocodile Bank Trust’ following loud music played at a star hotel in the outskirts of Chennai.
The 75-year-old, who founded the popular Chennai Snake Park and the Crocodile Bank, said the death of the 12-year-old female crocodile coincided with an event on the evening of March 30th at the Sheraton Grand Chennai Resort and Spa. The enclosure of the Cuban crocodile is within 20 meters from the block which separates the hotel from the building. The crocodile bank hosts around 2000 Crocodiles.
“It’s difficult to explain what happened that night, our animal just died. We think it occurred as a result of stress due to the sound from the nearby hotel, but we were unable to perform the post-mortem as the animal was totally rotten in the pool the next day morning. The speaker which they set up creates such strong vibrations, even the doors and the windows in the residence of the crocodile bank were shaking. It was like an earthquake. The sound creates some tension between the animals and as a result, they fight with each other and get injured,” Whitaker, who is known as the Snake Man of India told indianexpress.com.
Responding to the allegations, Shibil Malik, General Manager for Sheraton Grand Chennai Resort & Spa, said: “We at Sheraton Grand Chennai are equally saddened and disturbed to hear of this unfortunate incident. We have continuously worked with the crocodile bank management and taken all possible measures to maintain the safety of the wildlife in the neighbourhood. Hence we do believe that the allegations are unfounded.” Malik said the death could have been due to a number of natural or unnatural causes. “Whilst as a company we are extremely sensitive to animal welfare we do deny these false accusations. We remain committed towards the environment and wildlife and to working with the crocodile bank to ensure the safety of the wildlife so we can all coexist.”
Whitaker said he has been in this location for more than 40 years and the hotel was constructed just a few months ago. “Whenever they played some loud music, we complained and they took some measures to lower the decibel levels following the rules. But what they don’t understand that it’s not the decibel levels alone which affect the Crocodiles, it’s the high-frequency vibrations too.“
Whitaker, who was awarded the Padma Shri in 2018 for Wildlife Conservation, feels embarrassed by the unfortunate incident. “This is an International crocodile gene bank. We have people sending us crocodiles from the other side of the world at great cost. They have faith in us that we will keep the animals alive, but if we are going to tell them your critically endangered Cuban crocodile died due to the hotel next to us, think how they would react? It’s an embarrassment for me.“
Hoping the hotel management understands this is not a case of human disturbance, but one of animal disturbance, Whitaker urged all party organisers to take stern measures before setting up events like this close to any wildlife park across the country.
Meanwhile, environmentalist Nithayanand Jayaraman claimed the same set of people organised an event like this in MGM (Amusement Park near ECR) where people who objected got beaten up. “To have a party around the beach is mindless, loud sounds disturb animals, they are very sensitive to vibrations and sounds. Loudspeakers will even harm the turtles and other animals nearer to the sea. “
The 75-year-old, who founded the popular Chennai Snake Park and the Crocodile Bank, said the death of the 12-year-old female crocodile coincided with an event on the evening of March 30th at the Sheraton Grand Chennai Resort and Spa. The enclosure of the Cuban crocodile is within 20 meters from the block which separates the hotel from the building. The crocodile bank hosts around 2000 Crocodiles.
“It’s difficult to explain what happened that night, our animal just died. We think it occurred as a result of stress due to the sound from the nearby hotel, but we were unable to perform the post-mortem as the animal was totally rotten in the pool the next day morning. The speaker which they set up creates such strong vibrations, even the doors and the windows in the residence of the crocodile bank were shaking. It was like an earthquake. The sound creates some tension between the animals and as a result, they fight with each other and get injured,” Whitaker, who is known as the Snake Man of India told indianexpress.com.
Responding to the allegations, Shibil Malik, General Manager for Sheraton Grand Chennai Resort & Spa, said: “We at Sheraton Grand Chennai are equally saddened and disturbed to hear of this unfortunate incident. We have continuously worked with the crocodile bank management and taken all possible measures to maintain the safety of the wildlife in the neighbourhood. Hence we do believe that the allegations are unfounded.” Malik said the death could have been due to a number of natural or unnatural causes. “Whilst as a company we are extremely sensitive to animal welfare we do deny these false accusations. We remain committed towards the environment and wildlife and to working with the crocodile bank to ensure the safety of the wildlife so we can all coexist.”
Whitaker said he has been in this location for more than 40 years and the hotel was constructed just a few months ago. “Whenever they played some loud music, we complained and they took some measures to lower the decibel levels following the rules. But what they don’t understand that it’s not the decibel levels alone which affect the Crocodiles, it’s the high-frequency vibrations too.“
Whitaker, who was awarded the Padma Shri in 2018 for Wildlife Conservation, feels embarrassed by the unfortunate incident. “This is an International crocodile gene bank. We have people sending us crocodiles from the other side of the world at great cost. They have faith in us that we will keep the animals alive, but if we are going to tell them your critically endangered Cuban crocodile died due to the hotel next to us, think how they would react? It’s an embarrassment for me.“
Hoping the hotel management understands this is not a case of human disturbance, but one of animal disturbance, Whitaker urged all party organisers to take stern measures before setting up events like this close to any wildlife park across the country.
Meanwhile, environmentalist Nithayanand Jayaraman claimed the same set of people organised an event like this in MGM (Amusement Park near ECR) where people who objected got beaten up. “To have a party around the beach is mindless, loud sounds disturb animals, they are very sensitive to vibrations and sounds. Loudspeakers will even harm the turtles and other animals nearer to the sea. “