ROMULUS WHITAKER

In the first of this three-part series, Romulus Whitaker speaks on how his interest in wildlife, recognitions he has received and his other passions besides wildlife. A renowned wildlife conservationist and film maker his contribution to wildlife conservations is best seen at Guindy Snake Park and Madras Crocodile Bank.

I was born with it. It predates my memory. I remember catching snakes and those small crawly little things that children are usually so interested in. I remember doing this when I was just four years. It was like as if I was born with it, it was like some kind of re-incarnation stuff, though I don't really believe in it. All children have a natural instinct, which is usually curbed by some aunty or paatti (grandmother), who is afraid of something terrible happening to them. As in the case of all small kids who are interested in small things, there is some elder who is frightened that the child will touch something venomous and get stung or bitten. Usually, children don't get an opportunity for their natural instinct to blossom. In my case, it was not so. Somehow my mother did not discourage me. She actually encouraged me by buying me a book for children, on reptiles. Maybe, she wanted to get rid of me from the house. Only when we came to India, when I was seven years old, did my mother begin to get worried and wanted me to be a little more cautious. She also wanted me to be a little more formally trained. But at that age you just go ahead and do what you do and very luckily I did not get bitten. I guess that is how I got interested in wildlife, especially herpetology (study of reptiles).

The major influence in my childhood was when I arrived in India, I was just 7 years old and I had come from relatively tame surroundings in North East United States. I came to 'the land of snake charmers' as India was known then. All this I kind of grasped and combined with my attraction to all kinds of reptiles and my experience of being in the forests of Palani hills during my later childhood. These have helped me become what I am today. Instead of being interested in sports, like cricket or football, I was interested in being in the forest observing and learning how things work in nature. I was the odd one out among other kids of my age at that time.

Most of my knowledge was self-taught. Being with the Irulas and learning so much. The theory of wildlife management helped a little when I was working for the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organisation. I worked as a wildlife consultant in parks at Indonesia, Mozambique and Papua Guinea. My main point is that the field experience I got is much more valuable than any university education that I ever got. And the experience of learning from people like the Irulas or the crocodile catchers in Papua New Guinea was much more valuable than what any professor could have taught me in college. It is nice to have this education as a back up, but otherwise it is just another piece of paper, saying I'm eligible for a job, but it doesn't really give me the knowledge that I need to carry it out.

I had already been building up on my practical experience since my early formative years, in the Palani hills. This was the time when 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. For some people it may seem a scary experience, but for me it is exactly the opposite. You know, coming to Chennai is a very scary experience. I come here once a month and that is enough. The reason for this is the early formative years I spent in the Palani hills, that has attuned me to nature.

I moved to India with my stepfather Rama Chatopadhyaya. I continued my schooling in the International school in Kodaikanal. Since school, from the 1950's to 1960's, I spent a lot of time in Palani hills, so I must have had a natural germination back to Tamil Nadu after my experimentation in the U.S. I tried various jobs in the United States. After I finished college, I got drafted into the US army and also joined the Merchant Navy and tried my hand at traveling all over the world. All this was a very nice experience, but did not help my career. So I got a job in a serpentarium called the Miami Serpentarium. The operator of this serpentarium was a guy called Bill Haast, whom I could term in one way as my guru or one of my several gurus. He was a big influence in me setting up the venom extraction centre. He taught me the techniques of extracting venom and caring for snakes on a large level.

Oh the Rolex award …that is a useful watch (pointing towards it). I wouldn't really buy something as costly as this. I'd rather spend it on something very useful. I'd rather buy a Titan or a Timex. But the recognition helps in fund raising and all that and so it helps in getting recognition for your future efforts and plans. People also get to know that you have been using the funds given to you properly and that you are not splurging it on a Mercedez Benz or something like that.

Filmmaking is a passion, which I enjoy it very much. But my major passion in life is to be out in the wild. To see things as they happen naturally. The conservation part of wildlife is almost like a necessity, because it is a part of what I want to see happen. It is not like a passion. But I'd much rather be involved with wildlife in isolation. I'd like to a pure researcher, because there were times in my life when I wanted to be that and it was very exciting. But your conscience starts to bother you, because pure research in wildlife is a pure luxury and if you have a conscience at all, then you have to get involved in wildlife conservation

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