Tamil Nadu Timeline

EnvironmentRise of Dravidian rule

Madras Crocodile Bank founded

· Madras Crocodile Bank Trust

Madras Crocodile Bank founded
Shakeplo, CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The Madras Crocodile Bank was founded on the East Coast Road by Romulus Whitaker, Zai Whitaker and others to protect India's crocodile species.

First planned in 1973, the Madras Crocodile Bank came into being on 26 August 1976, founded by herpetologist Romulus Whitaker together with his wife Zai Whitaker and others. Its chief purpose was to conserve the three crocodilians found in India: the mugger, the saltwater crocodile and the gharial. On the East Coast Road, around 40 km south of Chennai, the trust operates a reptile zoo and a research station for herpetology. It has brought out the journal Hamadryad and assisted in establishing other research stations around India.

Related events

  1. 1972

    1. 1972Guindy National ParkEnvironment

      Madras Snake Park moves to Guindy

      On land leased from the Forest Department in Guindy, herpetologist Romulus Whitaker established an enlarged snake park, run by a trust he set up.

  2. 1974

    1. 1974Anamalai Tiger ReserveEnvironment

      Anaimalai Wildlife Sanctuary notified

      The forests of the Anaimalai hills in the Western Ghats were notified as a wildlife sanctuary, later the Anamalai Tiger Reserve.

  3. 1978

    1. 1978Guindy National ParkEnvironment

      Guindy declared a national park

      What was left of the forest on the old Guindy estate in Chennai was made a national park, among the smallest in India and one of only a few within a city.

    2. 4 Sep 1978Guindy, ChennaiEducation

      Anna University established

      Anna University was established in Madras as a technical university, named after former Chief Minister C. N. Annadurai.

  4. 1980

    1. Oct 1980Pulicat LakeEnvironment

      Tamil Nadu part of Pulicat Lake declared a bird sanctuary

      The Tamil Nadu portion of the Pulicat lagoon in Tiruvallur district was declared a bird sanctuary in October 1980.

  5. 1985

    1. 1985VandalurEnvironment

      Madras zoo moves to Vandalur as Arignar Anna Zoological Park

      The Madras Zoo, founded in 1855, moved to a large new site at Vandalur as the Arignar Anna Zoological Park.

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