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HISTORY


THE MADRAS CROCODILE BANK TRUST & CENTRE FOR HERPETOLOGY


By the mid 20th century hunting crocodilians was a lucrative enterprise throughout the tropics, and by the 1970s, along with rivers being dammed and polluted, India’s croc populations had been brought to the brink of extinction. Realizing this fact, the Indian government protected all three species of Indian crocodilians under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.

Responding to the need of that time, The Madras Crocodile Bank focused on the specific goal of securing breeding populations of the 3 species of Indian crocodilians: the mugger (Crocodylus palustris), the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) and the rarest of all, the gharial (Gavialis gangeticus).

The Croc Bank was originally designed to be a genetic repository of crocodiles for safekeeping, to protect and multiply until such time when they could be returned to restock their original wild habitats. This action was initially met with tremendous success, but today, release into the wild has stopped due to shrinking wilderness areas and the lack of suitable habitat.


Today Croc Bank is home to 15 species of crocodilians, 3 of which are listed by the IUCN as Critically Endangered with a further 3 listed as Threatened. The Croc Bank now successfully breeds several species of Threatened chelonians, including four listed as Critically Endangered.


As the need for conservation of reptiles grew, the Croc Bank increased its repertoire to include turtles, lizards and snakes and it came to be known as the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust and Centre for Herpetology in 1993.

The Croc Bank is far more than a typical zoo and in fact our core operation is as much a field based conservation outfit as it is a collection of captive animals for safekeeping. with two permanent field stations and several projects running concurrently.

The last few years have seen some major developments at the Croc Bank. A young and dynamic management team has taken over the helm of the main operation bringing in exciting new changes. The Croc Bank Masterplan will soon be implemented and there is plenty of excitement in store.