Rom delivering his talk in his usual style at CHARUSAT, 6th Jan 2019
It was an absolute honor to meet Romulus, Janaki Lenin and Nikhil Whitaker during the 6th Charotar Crocodile Count that was held last week on 4th-6th January 2019. My first introduction of Rom was though the biographic book Snakeman by Zai Whitaker (Zahida Futehali) published back in 1989. This was at the time I was an undergrad student studying Environmental Science in 2005, while also working as volunteer with Voluntary Nature Conservancy (then Vidyanagar Nature Club), learning to rescue snakes. I did not know Rom until then. Through that book, I not only came to know about Rom and his earlier works, but many other brilliant students, scientists and researchers from India and abroad. This book introduced me to Satish Bhaskar who is considered as the pioneer of sea turtle biology and conservation in India; Viji (Vijaya), India’s first woman herpetologist; Shekhar Dattatri, the well-known wildlife filmmaker and many others as well. This opened up a completely new world of wildlife conservation and people working for it to me, and above all made Rom my hero. This was also the first time that I realised that you can make a profession out of passion. This book made me dream of becoming a wildlife biologist one day and study species in far wilderness of India. The books seems out of print now, but what a wonderful book it is! This admiration for Rom and his work was further enhanced through another book Crocodile Fever: Wildlife Adventures in Guinea written again by Zai. I am indebted to Rom for inspiring and Zai for garnering that inspiration so brilliantly in words, and tell enchanted adventures of Rom. Those who say they admire Rom must read these two books.
Rom, Soham, Rajubhai (Dr. Vyas) and myself discussing datasheet. He pointed out an important suggestion.
Without Janaki, we would not have known Rom better in his later life through her two books “My Husband and Other Animals” and “My Husband and Other Animals 2: The Wildlife Adventure Continues”. I remember reading Janaki Lenin’s columns in various mediums/media, both print and online, and have admired her for long. These books took it to the next level. It made me feel that she has so much to say and the pages where not enough, but then I realise, she has that dexterity to write it in brief, but beautifully, and writing fearlessly what she feels is worth speaking off. No doubt, her work has inspired and would inspire generations of young naturalist and herpetologist, like Zai’s writings inspired me, a decade back.
My first chance of meeting Rom came in the form of an opportunity when I attended the 24th Meeting of the Crocodile Specialist Group at Skukuza, Kruger National Park (South Africa) in the year 2016. After two days of seeing him during conference, I finally met him during a dinner and introduced myself. He instantly remembered about the work that we were doing here in Charotar, and said “good work you are doing there”. It was like, a cricket fan meeting the Sachin Tendulkar, and Tendulkar saying, “You are playing nice. Keep batting”. Never thought, Sachin Tendulkar of Indian herpetology would actually come down to see my play, here in Charotar region. Soham’s pursuesation not only brought Rom, but also Janaki and Nikhil to Charotar, and be a part of the 6th Charotar Crocodile Count-2019. This is something we never imagined. How happy a child would have been when he asks for a candy, and gets lollipops along with it, that also two. I was that happy. Although I could not spent much time with rom, because of the busy schedule of the croc count. Then, probably, it will never be enough of sharing talks with him. Nevertheless, we talked enough about Crocodiles of Charotar and the work that we do, methodology that we use, and some interesting finding from here. He responded with important suggestion and requested Nikhil to offer help, if I needed one.
I could not hold myself and asked Janaki, about that I should not have asked, about when Rom temporarily lost all his memories due to scrub typhus, and about his state of mind. She is concern. I was concern too. Seeing a person, whom you have admired for life, who has lived a life a few can dream off, going to places a few would go and are allowed, doing things a few would dare to, and then forgetting all this, even temporarily. This made me sad for some time. Then again seeing Rom in his usual gypsy and witty mood, made me feel that this guy can take it. Rom responded about his this situation in one of the interview as “It was pretty amazing”.
Rom with the Memento, with which VNC felicitated him.
I was in a great dilemma while preparing the text that we wanted to write in the memento that we wanted to give him. I wanted to write text that justified Rom and his contributions to herpetology and conservation. He has done so much. He has contributed so much to herpetofauna conservation, setup excellent conservation and research institutions like Chennai Snake Park, MCBT, ANET and ARRS, which have become a hub of brilliant researchers and scientists, producing world class research. But I believe his most important and long lasting legacy is and will be that he inspired generations of young individuals who became interested in studying varieties of herpetofauna, including muggers and Gharials. No words that I wrote down for him satisfied me. Then I had to come up with something. But, I am not sure these words justified the man. Although the text written there was recited during his felicitation at CHARUSAT on 6th January 2019, at the concluding session of the Crocodile Count, but for those who could not show up, the felicitation lines were as below, and also includes words that were not included in the memento.
Voluntary Nature Conservancy
Honors
Romulus Whitaker
Herpetologist, Conservationist, Educator, Writer, Entrepreneur, Film Maker
& above all a
Snake Freak
For your service to wildlife conservation and being a true champion for wild animals and places in India and elsewhere, from conserving reptiles to saving India’s rainforests.
For making people love, empathize, and tolerate scaly and cold-blooded critters; that people so resented.
For inspiring children to dream of becoming a herpetologist.
For filling every generation with renewed wonder; the wonders of the reptile world.
Thanks Rom for showing up to see our crocodile work here in Charotar.
Romulus Whitaker, Janaki Lenin and Nikhil Whitaker with VNC’s volunteer team
This piece first appeared in: Saevus Magazine, March- May Issue, 2017
The presence of mind to handle a situation is one of the most important lessons in life! And a quick wit along with a Compassionate heart provide an additional advantage in solving a problem. Here we (Dr. Raju Vyas & Vishal Mistry also contributed to the article) narrate a rescue story where a little boy’s presence of mind played a crucial role in saving a turtle’s life.
Photo Credits: Vishal Mistry
The winters in Charotar were really cold with temperatures dropping to 5° C in the night. With such low temperatures, all that the muggers (Crocodylus palustris) wanted, was to bask in the morning sun. But the sun would not grace until 9:00 am and it is only after 9 that they start emerging from the pond to bask. This basking activity provides a great opportunity for counting and observing the muggers. Although the night counts provide the population estimates, these basking counts are extremely important to generate information about size classes within the population. Every year the Voluntary Nature Conservancy (Vidyanagar Nature Club) with the help of volunteers engage in counting crocodiles. On 17 January 2016, we were at the village pond of Heranj village in the Kheda district of Gujarat for carrying out the annual crocodile count. A group of small boys were playing near the village pond and seeing us do the count approached inquisitively. One of them asked about our whereabouts and work and we described our activities and our agenda in conservation efforts thereby justifying our presence in the village.
Photo Credits: Vishal Mistry
During the count, we chanced upon a freshwater turtle in a well at the edge of the water body. The turtle was floating in water and looked ill. On further observation we found that the turtle was unable to swim in the putrid water of the well that was filled with plastic litter, floating branches, small logs and other garbage thrown in. The turtle definitely needed to be rescued. During our discussion, the bold and the curious boy who asked about our whereabouts questioned as to what had happened to the turtle. We explained the condition of the turtle and the fact that it needed to be rescued from the well to a cleaner natural habitat at the earliest. While contemplating on the rescue that would require a long sturdy rope and other pulling and trapping equipment, we did not realize when the boy disappeared. While we were deciding to make a visit again for rescuing the turtle, the boy came back with a small plank tied to some thin kite threads. It was a small platform devised to be suspended over a height through threads. And before we could figure out how it might work, the boy hung the devise over the edge of the well and descended it. Within a couple of minutes, the platform appeared out of the well along with the turtle. We stood there watching this rescue with amazement!
Photo Credits: Vishal Mistry
The boy had made this devise with whatever he could lay his hands on in his immediate surroundings; dried twigs, few branches and straw and all these were tied with colorful threads. When we inquired about how he managed to acquire all these with such promptness, he mentioned that the kite festival was celebrated (14th & 15th January 2016) in Gujarat just two days ago. With plenty of tangled strong thread available in the vicinity, it was easy to make. The small platform was light in weight and so he even tied a small weight for easy descent. The rescued individual was a juvenile common flap-shell turtle (Lissymes puncatata) and seemed to be suffering from hypoglycemia due to the static cold water of the well.
Photo Credits: Soham Mukerjee
The entire rescue operation was an eye-opener for us. Not only were we all impressed with the efforts and compassion of this little boy, we were surprised with the way he handled the situation. It tells us that sometimes the willingness to accomplish a task outweighs the limitations. Sometimes traditional methods and quick wit can achieve what serious discussions and fear of shortcomings cannot. After releasing the turtle in the pond of the village, we moved on to the other village to count the crocodiles, but the boy and his rescue mission was the only topic that prevailed in our discussions for the next 3-4 hours.
The poem, ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’’ by Robert Frost, I read during my school days (18-20 years back). I love poems. Not many people know this. I could not understand this poem at once. I was 13 year old boy then. But it took me many reading attempts to see the many meaning this poem could offer. I have my explanation of this poem. Many others would say differently. But then they are poems. They are metaphoric and you are left to discern meanings by your own.
Words are very powerful. I strongly believe that. When I look back in my life, I see it’s the words from books, words from people, good and bad, which have influence my psyche, my life, and have made me… me. This poem was one of them. This poem made me understand the very less time I have in life to do things I love and I must do, before I sleep (in the word of Robert frost).
I lost touch with poems. My bad. Today, while browsing the internet, once again I came across it again. I could felt the same joy again, when I was a school boy. I told you, words are very powerful. I could not stop myself from sharing this great literary piece. This is a beautiful poem with a deeper meaning. It goes like this:
New Hampshire is a 1923 Pulitzer Prize-winning volume of poems written by Robert Frost. The book included several of Frost’s most well-known poems, including “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
Having said about the mesmerising but the dangerous seductiveness of the woods, Robert frost tells that although he is lured by the charm of the woods, he seems to be trying to shake himself back into the real world and his societal responsibilities for the mundane world that he is a part of.
The last three lines show a major change in poet’s perception. He does not allow himself to fall to temptation of the sublime beauty of nature and of death, although he stops while to halt his journey for a while and consider it. The last line is repeated. It may seem little more than a literal reference. The repetition gives it particular meaning and kind of momentum to the poem.
To me this poem points to the metaphorical reference to the brief span of human life, the peace which comes after death and the compulsion to take risks and explore the truth while one can.
This piece first appeared in: Sanctuary Asia, Vol. XXXVI No. 2, February 2016.
Many thanks to Sanctuary Asia for publishing the article, and Rufford Foundation, Duleep Matthai Nature Conservation Trust and Idea wild for supporting the project.
Darkness had descended on Deva village and the crescendo of frog mating calls filled the air. As we approached the lake, we found several of them on the water’s edge. A splash alerted us to another movement. We focused our flashlights towards the sound to find a set of glowing eyes. A juvenile mugger was on the prowl. The wary frogs began jumping into the water, while the croc steadily approached. Suddenly, it opened its jaw to perfectly trap an escaping frog.
What was I doing in the middle of the night in Deva, a village in the Charotar region of central Gujarat? A year earlier, I had been enticed by Dhaval Patel, the managing trustee of the Voluntary Nature Conservancy (VNC) to visit. “You have to see it to believe it,” he had exclaimed. “Deva’s crocodiles are unique, people are unafraid of them,” he had added. We had set off and within an hour, I was looking at nearly 30 crocodiles basking along a lakeshore. All around the crocs were people! Women washed clothes, livestock drank from the lake and children played nearby. I soon learnt that similar scenes played out across Charotar.
Densely populated, dominated by agricultural fields and with virtually no forest cover, Charotar is an unlikely area for India’s largest freshwater predator. Yet, people here have always lived alongside the reptiles and continue to do so, with minimal conflict.
Though I was in Gujarat to initiate a project on wolves, this unique paradigm intrigued me. While I had no experience in herpetology, I was interested in human-wildlife interaction. I read available literature on Charotar, but found little information. With Dhaval’s encouragement, I decided to apply for funding from the Rufford Foundation to study these crocs, and received a positive response.
Dr. Raju Vyas, a well-known herpetologist who has studied the crocodiles of the Vadodara region for almost two decades, agreed to be the scientific adviser for the project. Over five years, Dr. Vyas and Jigar Upadhyay, a researcher from Ahmedabad, had already been independently chalking out the status of muggers here by conducting field surveys and interviews. We hoped that our study would further provide a systematic assessment of population, available mugger habitat and prevailing threats.
Gator boys?
By the summer of 2013, I was joined by Vishal Mistry, a volunteer with VNC and resident of a neighbouring village Vaso, as a Research Assistant, and Mehul Patel, VNC’s Education Coordinator. The water level was low in the large wetlands, and the smaller ones had dried. Muggers stayed inside burrows to escape the scorching heat, only emerging at night to feed. So we too adapted to a nocturnal life, utilising the day to look for burrows, conduct interviews and assess habitat quality.
“Are you gator boys?” asked a student in Heranj village, who saw us taking notes and who had probably watched Animal Planet. “Are you here to catch the alligators?” he asked us again. “No, we are here to study them,” I replied, adding that these were not alligators, but muggers.
Muggers construct nests during the dry season through the wet season with the earliest seen around mid-April. There is considerable increase in the female’s activity at the den site, just prior to nest building, and well-worn trails take shape leading from the den to water. This activity was usually observed about one week before nest construction began. Egg-laying took place from April end to June end, and hatching commenced at the start of the wet season in June and extended up to August. On one instance, we were invited by a villager to see a croc burrow in his backyard. He reported that the burrow has been there for more than four years, and that he had no problems sharing his home.
Surveying crocodiles at night in Deva brought with it a unique problem. Deva was inhabited by a huge male water buffalo that had been disowned by his owner, the ‘Jalpado’ as we called him. A healthy specimen, he was always in the water and was intolerant of flashlights. So whenever we attempted to count crocs, we would instead find a buffalo charging at us, forcing us to run for our lives. It seemed that the crocodiles were also afraid of this animal and moved away as he entered the water. Other times, during night surveys, we found ourselves surrounded by villagers, who mistook us for thieves! Luckily, Vishal would come to our rescue or we would surely have received a beating.
Photo: Anirudh Vasava
Coexistence
In Gujarati, the word ‘Charotar’ means a pot full of gold, supposedly coined in lieu of the fertility of the land. Charotar comprises parts of the Anand and Kheda districts and is located between two major rivers; Sabarmati on the west and Mahisagar on the east. Although it lacks forests, it has the highest density of urban trees in the state, and is considered the green bowl of Gujarat. Large areas are irrigated by the Mahi Irrigation Project, and most waterbodies are interlinked by an intensive canal network. This network acts as highways for dispersing crocodiles.
“Magara (mugger) to bap dada na jaman thi che (muggers have survived in this village since the times of our forefathers),” says Durgesh Patel, the Sarpanch of Malataj village. “Crocodiles were released in the region by the Maharajas of Vadodara for sport,” claimed Mathur Patel, a wizened, old man we met at Traj village, although we did not find any published evidence stating this.
To a limited extent, the drying up of wetlands in hot months, flooding of burrows due to rise of the water level, habitat encroachment and road kills do pose a threat to the future of these muggers. Villagers use parts of the wetland to grow the Indian water chestnut Trapa bispinosa and lotus Nelumbo nucifera, and pesticide use is rampant. This is likely to affect the various trophic levels in these wetland ecosystems.
In the monsoons, water levels rise, flooding many crocodile-basking areas and burrows. The release of water in these canals also inundates many of the burrows thereby hindering hatching. The muggers are forced to indulge in local dispersal, and migrate to other ponds. In this season, they also lay eggs, and hatchlings make these ponds their own. Since most wetlands are interconnected, during the monsoon when the waters rise, muggers use the canals to move from one village to another, often reaching less-tolerant areas. Negative reports by the media add to the fear mongering. A number of crocodiles are rescued every year from human habitations, and during our project, nearly 17 were rescued from different villages by authorities.
Despite this, overall there is a great tolerance for these animals. The village pond of Malataj village in Anand district has become an excellent example of coexistence. The villagers here even ask the Forest Department to release rescued animals in their village pond. Although the villagers claim to have nearly 70 muggers, our survey concluded that there were 18-24 adult animals in the pond. Jilesh Patel, a volunteer with VNC and a resident of Malataj, says, “When we were kids, we used to play just nine-fifteen metres away from where muggers used to bask. We were never afraid of them. Neither did our parents warn us against them.”
Durgesh Patel, the sarpanch, says, “There is nothing to fear. Muggers have never attacked anyone in Malataj. If we do not harm them, they do not harm us.” No wonder, Malataj is being promoted as ‘Magaro nu gam’ (the crocodile village). People from other villages tell us, “Ato chaniya magar che, chhan khay ne jive, te kai na kare (these are dung crocodiles, they eat cow dung, they do nothing).” Villagers pile excess cow dung at the village edge, sometimes near the pond. Muggers find refuge in these piles of cow dung as it provides excellent warmth in the cold. This association of cow dung and muggers has led villagers to believe that the muggers eat cow dung, apart from fish and birds. The idols of local goddess Khodiyar too depict the deity mounted on a crocodile – a symbol of coexistence, say residents.
However, it is important to note that the muggers have been positively accepted because there have been very few attacks in this region. One incident involving the attack and death of a girl in Traj village in our study region resulted in agitated people demanding the removal of muggers. Seven to eight muggers were captured and relocated. Unfortunate incidents like these can turn the tide. Forty kilometres from Charotar, in Vadodara, the situation is starkly different. With nearly 40 attacks on humans, of which 28 were fatal, and 200 rescues in the last five years, Vadodara needs urgent attention. As per the data generated by the website CrocBite (www.crocodile-attack.info), Gujarat faces the highest mugger attacks in India. Crocs that are rescued are set free mostly in the Aajwa reservoir on the outskirts of Vadodara. Their population has increased manifold in the last few years. This means an increasing number of human-crocodile encounters. The 22 km. stretch of the Vishwamitri river in Vadodara is home to more than 200 adult crocodiles.
Photograph: Vishal Mistry
Making a difference
Since he joined Voluntary Nature Conservation (VNC) in 2011, Mehul Patel has provided nature education to more than one and half lakh students. During our survey period between 2013 and 2015, Mehul, with the help of Vishal Mistry, began outreach initiatives in 25 schools in 15 villages having potential mugger habitats. Through audio-visual presentations and interactive discussions, he spoke to children about the basic biology and behaviour of muggers, and the role they play in maintaining aquatic ecosystems. He also highlighted the threats and the ways of co-existence. Nearly 5,000 students and around 400 teachers have benefitted from VNC’s work.
Protecting Charotar’s crocs
Though the mugger population in Charotar is healthy, we identified certain threats. Direct human influences such as poaching and collection of eggs were not reported, and local villagers are not involved in fishing. However, most wetlands are leased out by the village panchayat to fishing contractors. They place large gill nets in the wetlands, wherein muggers occasionally get trapped. If not rescued in time, they could suffocate to death. Some of these contractual fishermen, who come from outside Gujarat, intentionally capture muggers, tie them up and keep them outside the water until they finish fishing, so as to protect their nets. It was in such a scenario at Traj village that a mugger tied to a tree, injured a small boy.
Our surveys in Deva village revealed that animal skinners often leave remains of other animals for the muggers. This could encourage the reptiles to lose their fear of humans and approach too close in search of easy food. Some reports suggest they cross the road between the pond and village. On one occasion, a mugger was killed by a vehicle near Vaso village.
During winters, when muggers bask intensively, village kids disturb them by throwing stones or poking them with sticks. Once when we arrived to monitor the burrow of a female just outside Heranj village, we saw that kids had tied a rope around her snout to play tug-of-war. We stopped them and explained why this could be dangerous. A few months later Vishal informed me that the female had become aggressive and would charge anybody who approached. On many occasions, villagers from certain villages were found defecating just at the entrance of burrows. Such close encounters between crocodiles and people could possibly escalate conflict.
Photo: Niyati Patel
A future with muggers
During our two-year study, we surveyed 67 potential localities to enumerate the distribution and population status of muggers. We located muggers at 27 of these villages, 10 of which were not previously known to be occupied by crocs. Their occurrence was reported from another 16 villages, based on indirect evidences and interviews. However, they could not be sighted in these villages, perhaps because they do not have a permanent breeding population here. Our population survey revealed that there are around 180-230 muggers. Of the total muggers observed, 71 per cent of the observations occurred in six localities; Deva, Vaso, Heranj, Marala-Naghrama, Traj and Malataj.
Conservation of any species depends on the tolerance of locals, especially in Charotar, where humans and crocodiles use the same resources. Certain key findings emerged from our study. Despite pronounced urbanisation and reduction of habitat, muggers play an important role in people’s consciousness. The respondents’ views of muggers were surprisingly favourable in our study area with 81 per cent professing a liking for the species and 81.82 per cent supporting their protection. A majority of the respondents (67.52 per cent) suggested that they be protected where they occur presently. Overall, men and women had similar concerns and showed almost equal tolerance toward muggers. The older generation, not surprisingly, were more knowledgeable about muggers. The main variable accounting for negative attitudes was safety concerns. This can have important implications on the reptiles’ conservation here, as these mugger populations are surviving outside. Protected Areas.
While there is minimal conflict in the Charotar region now, one cannot predict the future. Increasingly, muggers are being rescued from many areas of Charotar and translocated to either Pariej lake or Malataj village pond. The lack of appropriate ‘rescue and release’ protocols is worrisome. “Translocation of animals is not a viable option as many animals returned to the place where they were rescued from,” says Dr. Raju Vyas. It is vital to craft conservation plans including effective and adequate compensation in the case of human or livestock loss due to muggers. It is also necessary to decrease the interface between humans and muggers. In some villages, Crocodile Exclusion Enclosures (CEE) for people to access the water’s edge have been installed.
“It is high time to design an action plan for this species at the state level and to evaluate the existing conservation strategy and reformulate management policies,” says Dr. Vyas. For me, the whole experience of studying these animals in Charotar has been inspirational. I had walked into a situation rarely seen in today’s sterile world and attained an unique insight into human-wildlife interaction.
Citizen Science
The public participation of non-scientists in scientific research has become an important tool for monitoring and evaluating biodiversity. Citizen science is critical to engage the public to care for and participate in wildlife conservation. I had followed the excellent work done by Centre for Wildlife Studies (CWS) through the use of volunteers.
The idea for the ‘Charotar Crocodile Count’ stemmed from this and in December 2014, VNC conducted its first volunteer (mostly urban dwellers) based crocodile count in Charotar. Some 42 volunteers surveyed 18 villages in two days, resulting in the sighting of 98 individual crocodiles, and conducted more than 200 interviews. Buoyed by its success, we repeated this in 2015, which resulted in 61 participants surveying 26 villages and sighting 131 crocodiles. These volunteers come from all walks of life, aged 18 to 60. The participants provide a wealth of baseline data in a small amount of time, which would otherwise have taken months of field work. This year, we received more than 250 entries for the two-day Charotar Crocodile Count-2016 held on January 16 and 17.
Author: Anirudh Vasava, First appeared in: Sanctuary Asia, Vol. XXXVI No. 2, February 2016.
Anirudhkumar Vasava 