The Crocodile Rehabilitation and Research Centre is a crocodile breeding and rearing park situated at Neyyar, a popular tourist destination near the city of

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

History

Crocodile farm

A crocodile farm was started at the site in 1977, accommodating around 44

mugger crocodile The mugger crocodile (''Crocodylus palustris'') is a medium-sized broad- snouted crocodile, also known as mugger and marsh crocodile. It is native to freshwater habitats from southern Iran to the Indian subcontinent, where it inhabits marshes ...

s. The number of crocodiles varies as muggers are raised and released to the Neyyar river and lake near the dam site. It also accommodates other reptiles like snakes that are caught straying at the tribal villages nearby for short periods before they are released back into the sanctuary, most recently an Indian Python.

Steve Irwin memorial

Established in May 2007, the Research Centre was initially named the Steve Irwin National Park, in honor of the late naturalist

Steve Irwin Stephen Robert Irwin (22 February 19624 September 2006), known as "The Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian zookeeper, conservationist, television personality, wildlife educator, and environmentalist. Irwin grew up around crocodiles and ot ...

, who was known as "The Crocodile Hunter". Irwin was killed by a stingray barb, while filming a documentary in 2006. The crocodile park was the world's first-known memorial honoring the sportsman. A life-size plaque depicting Irwin was placed by the Kerala Forest Department at the gate of the park (though it was removed later). The Centre was inaugurated by Benoy Viswam, the Forest Minister in the

Government of Kerala Government of Kerala is the Subnational administrative division, subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior mini ...

Controversies

In 2009, Irwin's estate sent a legal cease-and-desist notice to the park, alleging violation of intellectual property rights and instructing them to cease using Irwin's name and image without the consent of the estate. This led to the removal of Irwin's name from the crocodile park. The picture engraved at the park's gate was also removed.

Crocodile attacks

In 2001, mugger attacks were reported on tribals living near the dam site. Studies conducted by KFRI found these to be isolated incidents resulting from abnormal behaviour of a minority of the mugger population. A few weeks later an adult male crocodile accused of killing a tribal woman was trapped near the dam site.

References

{{coord missing, Kerala Zoos in Kerala Tourist attractions in Thiruvananthapuram Nature conservation organisations based in India Crocodilians of Asia Wildlife rehabilitation and conservation centers Research institutes in Thiruvananthapuram Reptile conservation organizations 1977 establishments in Kerala Organizations established in 1977 Articles needing infobox zoo