His name has become synonymous with wildlife conservation in Chennai. Born in New York, Romulus Whitaker arrived in India when he was just seven years young, after completing his early schooling in the United States. He stayed for a short time in Mumbai, with his stepfather Ram Chatopadhyaya. He then moved to Kodaikanal and resumed his schooling in the International School in Kodaikanal. Whitaker says, "The basic skills that have helped me in my career have been picked up from my early formative years in the Palani hills, where I spent most of the time wandering through the forests. When you do that, you just naturally pick up skills like observation and skills for doing the job".

He returned to the United States for his college education. He graduated with a degree in wildlife management from Wyoming University. In the United States, he worked for a short time during and after his college. He worked in the Mechant Navy and even got himself drafted into the US army. He was smitten by the travel bug and wanted to travel all around the world. After this, he worked for the United Nations and was placed in places like Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Java. It was his experience in Papua Guinea that found its expression in his book Crocodile Fever.

Whitaker was the founder director of the Snake Park, Guindy, an NGO project, which helped rehabilitate the Irula tribe (known for their expertise in catching snakes). The Irulas were left jobless after the ban on snake skin trading. He helped them get involved in snake venom extraction and so provided them a way to make a living. He is presently involved with the Centre for Herpetology, popularly known as the Madras Crocodile Bank (MCB). Today the MCB has helped toward increasing the population of crocodiles bred in captivity. The centre also acts as a research station and as an important educational tool for the 5 lakh visitors every year.

Whitaker has been involved in the publishing of over 100 technical papers. He is also a noted wildlife documentary filmmaker and author. Among his productions is the Emmy award-winning documentary King Cobra, a 53-minute film for National Geographic. Presently, his son Nikhil Whitaker helps him with work at Madras Crocodile Bank.

Click here for the first part of this interview

|