Underwater Crocodile Gharial On Display At The Crocodile Zoo In Chennai Editorial Photo

The Madras Crocodile Bank Trust and Centre for Herpetology is a reptile zoo and herpetology research station, located near the city of Chennai, in state of Tamil Nadu, India. The centre is a recognized zoo under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and comes under the purview of the Central Zoo Authority, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. It was established with the aim of saving three Indian endangered species of crocodile—the marsh or mugger crocodile, the saltwater crocodile, and the gharial. The centre is the biggest crocodile sanctuary in India. The centre has one of the world's largest collections of crocodiles and alligators and has bred 5,000 crocodiles and alligators representing 14 of the 23 existing species, including the three crocodile species, all considered endangered, that are native to India.