It is rare to find a job that considers someone to be a herpetologist first!

The title ‘Snake Man of India’ ascribed to Romulus Whitaker cannot be more apt. He has single handedly made the study of reptiles a popular public concern in our country. Whitaker was born in the United States, but moved with his family to India at the age of eight. The move was a fortuitous one for a young snake lover, and it introduced him to the vast array of outstanding Indian snakes.

Rom Whitaker, along with his wife Zai set up the Madras CrocBank in 1976. This is now an international conservation centre. For many years, they lived among Irula tribes, famous for their skills as snake-catchers. They set up a snake farm in the Chennai Zoo and supplied anti-snakebite serum to hospitals. Rom Whitaker is the founder of India's first snake park.

Rom Whitaker was invited by the United Nations and World Wide Fund for Nature to do crocodile surveys deep inland in New Guinea and to help set up village crocodile farms. Rom and Zai spent two years in Papua New Guinea and Rom then travelled for nine months in the western half of the island, Irian Jaya. The book ‘Crocodile fever’ records their incredible and occasionally hilarious experiences on uncharted rivers and tangled undergrowth to find crocodiles and pythons.

Recommended reading:

Common Indian Snakes by Rom Whitaker
Snakes of India, The field guide by Rom Whitaker and Ashok Captain
Cobra in my Kitchen and Snake Man by Zai Whitaker
Crocodile fever by Rom and Zai Whitaker

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