ROMULUS WHITAKER -THE MAN: Music, Motorcycles & Movies - BOY AND THE CROCOCDILE

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ROMULUS EARL WHITAKER'S unconventional upbringing and freedom of thought has led to a remarkable life. And yet, our world is bent on teaching and imposing homogeneity; like a batch of consumable being sealed and packed on a conveyor belt.
A legend in the arena of wildlife conservation and affectionately hailed as the 'Snakeman of India', ROMULUS WHITAKER has had a lifelong love affair with the 'fierce creatures' that share our planet.
When his mother married and moved to Mumbai, Whitaker was transplanted from a conventional childhood in the US to what was for him the exciting world of India. At boarding school in Kodai, he kept a pet python under his bed and realized that all he really wanted to do was work with snakes. Sent to the US for college, Whitaker preferred snakes to lecture halls and left to work in a snake farm.
From a single parent childhood in rural America to the maniacal churn of a family in India, to the freedom he has to explore the world around him. His ability to not allow his education, first regimented and later religious, to change his inner calling. His keen exploration of the lush wilderness of the Nilgiris. The odd friends he has. The rolling stone nature of jobs he tries his hands at — everything from snake catcher and sparrow killer to the military and sailing. How a handicap, colour-blindness, turns into a strength — spotting creatures in the wild by becoming better at recognizing shapes.
Perhaps that explains his fascination for reptiles, creatures that are “not like us”.

Romulus Earl Whitaker (born 23 May 1943) is herpetologist, wildlife conservationist, and founder of the Madras Snake Park, the Andaman and Nicobar Environment Trust (ANET), and the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust.
In 2008, Whitaker was selected as an associate laureate in the 2008 Rolex Awards for Enterprise for his efforts to create a network of rainforest research stations throughout India.
In 2005, he was a winner of a Whitley Award for outstanding leadership in nature conservation. He used this award to found the Agumbe Rainforest Research Station in Karnataka, for the study of king cobras and their habitat.
For his work in wildlife conservation, he received the Padma Shri award in 2018 by the Government of India.
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