Vadodara: Whenever the wildlife activists walk along the Vishwamitri River, a ‘Rockstar’ follows them surreptitiously. He surfaces for a few moments before disappearing into the water again. No, he isn’t some fellow human. Rockstar is a big crocodile that resides in the river stretch behind the central jail.
“We have named him Rockstar as he is bold and quite energetic,” said Vishal Thakur, a wildlife activist working in the area of crocodile conservation. While people usually give fancy names to their pets, in Vadodara the ferocious crocodiles that stay right in the heart of the city have earned some unique names.
A male crocodile with one swollen eye has been named ‘Vithhal Kaniya’ after a gangster’s character from Sanjay Dutt starrer ‘Vastav’. Another reptile is called ‘Bhasmasur’ for its big size. “He is huge and scary too. Whenever he swims under the Kala Ghoda Bridge, no reptile dares to cross his path,” Thakur told TOI.
Thakur and Sanjay Soni, another wildlife activist, have named these reptiles for easy identification. “We keep taking rounds of the river to ensure that the crocodiles and their dens are safe. So, we decided to give them unique names matching either their features or behaviour. We sometimes give them a call too and the reptiles do appear,” Soni, who volunteers for the forest department, said.
One of the fiercest reptiles, who guards her eggs ferociously, is called ‘Kaali’. “Whenever we walk by her den, she immediately surfaces, crawls in the front of the den and opens her jaws as a sign of warning. And, her male partner ‘Mahakaal’ too backs her up,” Thakur added. And, then there is ‘Laxmi’ who is graceful and usually calm. “This way, we feel connected with these reptiles and make them a part of our family,” he said.
Vishwamitri River is home to about 270 crocodiles. The activists said that despite rapid urbanization, the stretch between Fatehgunj and Sayajigunj has dozens of crocodiles but they have never harmed any human.
