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 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.
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