If you put a salt water crocodile and a great white shark together, who would win the fight? You can take it for granted that an adult didn’t come up with this one. That’s what happens when you put a bunch of 10-year-olds in charge of the zoo-keeping at The Madras Crocodile Bank Trust. But director Colin Stevenson says with a smile, “The idea is to show kids that the job involves a whole lot more than cleaning poo out of things.” He adds, “There’s an understanding of biology involved, of their crocodile behaviour and habits... We want to change the impression that people have of zoos in India, altogether.”
As part of the Crocodile Bank’s summer schedule – the team has come up with three summer workshops for children in the age group of 10-14. These include a Zoo School (zoo-keeping for a day), a Zoo Snooze (slumber party at the Croc Bank with night walks) and finally a Weekend Camp which comprises scavenger hunts, visiting the local flying fox bat colony and going on a snake walk with the Irula tribe.
“It’s odd, every time I go on that Irula walk, we end up seeing just rat snakes,” Colin complains. He quickly adds with a touch of humour, “And when I don’t go – the kids end up seeing cobras and russell’s vipers!” In other words, all the cooler venomous snakes one would be lucky to catch a glimpse of on the walk. The director laughs, “I’m jinxed. Maybe the snakes just know I’m a ‘crocodile guy.’”
The workshops usually admit kids in batches of five or six to keep the group easily manageable. “We have a mix of on-campus live-in staff, security guards and volunteers available at all times, in addition to the two tour guides leading the group,” says the institution’s education officer. She offers some insight from her many years at the institution. “Most kids come in scared because they are usually accompanied by teachers who have already shaken them up a little,” she says. “But once the animals are brought out, their faces light up with excitement.” And fear quickly shifts to curiosity as everyone wants to get their turn of touching the reptiles. The best part, we’re told, is that the same kids come back year after year. “So we know we’re doing right,” she says with a smile.
