Anybody who is adopted moderate weather like Bangalore will certainly feel hot in a city like Chennai. I was quite fortunate to visit Chennai during the month of December (2013), the weather was cool, thanks to the cyclone effect.
This time we happened to visit two places – The Madras Crocodile Bank Trust and Mahabalipuram.
The Madras Crocodile Bank Trust is about 40 kms from Chennai towards Mahabalipuram and Pondicherry. This was my first visit and was quite impressed the way it was maintained.
The fee to enter the Crocodile bank was affordable. Rs. 35 for an adult and Rs. 10 for children below 10 years. I carried my still cam so I had to shell out Rs. 20 for the camera. For the camcorder, the fee is Rs. 100.
Until I entered the crocodile bank I didn’t know that there was also a place for snakes and some turtles. While entering, on the the left hand side you will find Irula Snake Catchers Cooperative Society and towards the right The Snake Haven.
We started with the Snake Catchers society, which was quite interesting, and explored the varieties of crocodiles, turtles, and some free flying birds.
The crocodile bank has a good collection of crocodiles, after all it’s a captive breeding center. Thanks to the efforts of Romulus Whitaker for establishing this Asia’s first Crocodile Bank.
A little farther into the crocodile bank, there’s a mini museum where you can find a small crocodile in an aquarium, crocodile eggs, a crocodile skeleton (head) and few posters showing information of crocodiles.
If you glance at the above images clockwise, you will find a tiny crocodile (live) in an aquarium, a crocodile skeleton (head), eggs of Gharial and Siamsese crocodile, collection of crocodile eggs and eggs of Marsh crocodile and African Slender Snouted Crocodile.
The snake haven (towards your right) has a few variety of snakes and turtles. You can also find one giant crocodile.
It took about 2 hours for us to explore the park. This is a great site for tourists and also for the photographers.
No comments:
Post a Comment