A year after the world's only 'vegetarian' crocodile died, its 'heir' appeared in a temple pond, with devotees claiming divine intervention.
The Kasaragod temple and its pond. (Supplied)
When a crocodile, said to be aged 75, that lived in a pond near the ancient Sri Ananthapadmanabha Swamy Temple near Kumble in Kerala’s northernmost district of Kasaragod died on 9 October last year, it was dubbed the world’s lone vegetarian alligator with divine powers — and it attained moksha at an appropriate stage in its life.
The crocodile was said to be protecting the ancient temple by consuming only the prasada (offering).
Despite the scientific community’s constant assertion that no crocodile could survive solely on vegetarian food, the propaganda was so fierce and potent that thousands — even from North India — undertook pilgrimages to the picturesque temple in a serene village.
However, the situation in Kerala was different at that time, with social media users widely sharing images and videos of the crocodile being given non-vegetarian food, particularly chicken, clandestinely.
There were also claims that the crocodile was catching and consuming fish from the pond.
Several locals even circulated photographs of the crocodile catching fish during its healthier days.
More than a year after the death of Babiya, the “divine” crocodile, the temple is again in the news, with authorities and devotees reporting the sighting of another crocodile in the pond.
The discovery of the new crocodile prompted the initiation of yet another high-voltage campaign claiming that Babiya has a successor with the same divine powers.
The newly found crocodile.
The temple committee, which had been disputing allegations of a Babiya successor’s sighting for the previous two weeks, verified its presence on Saturday, 11 November, afternoon, and now maintains that the temple pond has always had a lone crocodile, and this would be the fourth.
But the committee is keeping mum when asked about the food preferences of the new one —whether it would, like Babiya, be a vegetarian.
They have yet to name the new crocodile.
“When one crocodile dies, another inevitably appears, and this continues to be an unexplained phenomenon,” MV Mahalingeswara Bhatt, general secretary of the temple renovation society, claimed to South First.
The temple committee, according to temple manager P Lakshmana Hebbar, has been waiting and watching since some devotees discovered it for the first time in a crevice on the walls of the pond two weeks ago.
However, committee members found and confirmed the presence of the crocodile only on Saturday.
When asked if the crocodile could have been covertly deposited in the temple pond, Hebbar responded in the negative, saying the committee does not believe so.
Capturing and transporting a crocodile entails difficult activities requiring trained veterinarians.
Crocodiles are listed as a vulnerable species in India under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
Crocodiles are wild, aquatic, carnivorous animals, and rules require people to remain away from their habitats and not disturb them.
“It’s a baby crocodile. We’ve informed the tantri (head priest) of the temple, and he’ll decide what needs to be done next,” said Sankara Narayana Bhatt, the temple’s seva clerk.
The Mahavishnu temple, located in Kasaragod, is known as the Moolasthanam, the original source, of the famous Sri Ananthapadmanabha Swamy temple of Thiruvananthapuram, the wealthiest of its kind in the country due to the heavy deposits of gold inside its hidden chambers.
The body of Babiya, a vegetarian crocodile, died in October 2022. (Supplied)
“According to legend, the pond is home to a single crocodile, and the current crocodile is the fourth one to be sighted. When one crocodile dies, another appears, and this remains an unknown occurrence,” stated the temple’s website after an update on Sunday.
“There are no crocodiles in any nearby rivers or ponds. The crocodile is docile and harmless to humans. “Its presence in the pond surrounding the Mahavishnu temple reminds people of one of the well-known Gajendra Moksha stories in the Bhagavatha Puranam,” the website continues.
”The coming days are critical in the case of the crocodile, which was illegally relocated to the temple pond from elsewhere. Its life is highly dependent on the food it consumes. Habitat change is also a problem,” said zoological expert Vijayakumar Blathoor, who questions why the state government has not launched an investigation into the suspected wildlife trafficking involved in the entire process.
Babiya in healthier times (Supplied)
“Even the temple committee admits Babiya was by himself. After mating with males, female crocodiles deposit eggs, and the hatchlings emerge after incubation. Nowhere in the world has divinity given birth to a crocodile,” he remarked to South First.
Surprisingly, Vijayakumar and his colleague Padmanabhan Blathoor predicted on social media four years ago that Babiya would have a “divine” successor after its death.
”After visiting the temple and witnessing the euphoria there, we made that forecast sarcastically. It has now come true,” Padmanabhan remarked.
While the local Malayalam media addressed the subject with caution and refrained from repeating the temple committee’s lofty claims, it became significant news outside Kerala, with the media, in general, affirming the miracle behind the new crocodile’s appearance.
A senior journalist with a leading Malayalam newspapers told South First that he preferred to limit the news to a single column carrying the temple committee’s claim because adding divinity to the presence of crocodiles in a temple pond would invite large-scale social media trolling in Kerala.
“I was the one who spotted the crocodile for the first time. I soon clicked a picture of it and informed the temple committee. I don’t know whether it was a divine incarnation or not,” said painting worker Sudheesh Chettukunnu when contacted by South First.
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