A thousand Indian crocodiles are about to be transferred from the protection center in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, two thousand kilometers away to a zoo in Gujarat, owned by the millionaire Mukesh Ambani. Sanctuary officials say the move is necessary because overpopulation is causing constant conflicts between the reptiles and forcing vets to destroy hundreds of eggs each year.
Nikhil Whitaker, director of the sanctuary, says it’s not the first time groups of reptiles have been relocated; however, this year’s operation has unprecedented dimensions. The crocodiles will travel over the next few weeks in specially made wooden boxes for the trip, and will be kept at a fixed temperature. “In the new Jamnagar zoo, built three years ago on an area of 425 acres”, Whitaker said again, “our crocodiles will fit in very well”.
In the first twenty years, the Chennai center, created in 1974 with just forty animals, released the redundant specimens into their natural habitats, but since 1994 this practice has been prohibited by the government. The reptilian population increases exponentially because there is no contraceptive method for the species and the attempt to keep male specimens separate from females creates considerable problems of conflict in the group of males.
