‘Vegetarian’ crocodile that lived in Kerala temple pond dies

Carcass of Babia at Sri Ananthapadmanabha Swamy temple. Pic/PTI

A decades-old lone crocodile, claimed to be a vegetarian, that inhabited the lake at the Sri Ananthapadmanabha Swamy temple and often found roaming inside its premises was found dead late on Sunday night.

Temple officials said that the crocodile, fondly called Babia, was missing since Saturday. Thereafter, the carcass was found floating on the lake around 11.30 pm on Sunday night and the same was conveyed to the police and the animal husbandry department, temple officials said.

The carcass was removed from the lake and put on public display as hundreds of people turned up on Monday for a last glimpse. Temple officials claimed the crocodile was a vegetarian which subsisted on the ‘prasadam' made there.

Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Shobha Karandlaje said she hoped that the "God's own crocodile", which lived at the temple for over 70 years, attains ‘sadgati' or salvation.

"Babiya, the god's own crocodile of Sri Anantapura Lake temple has reached Vishnu Padam. The divine crocodile lived in the temple's lake for over 70 years by eating the rice & jaggery prasadam of Sri Ananthapadmanabha Swamy & guarded the temple. May she attain Sadgati, Om Shanti!," she tweeted. Temple officials said that the carcass of the crocodile would be buried in a pit nearby.

The temple's website says, "There's no river or pond nearby where crocodiles exist. The crocodile is friendly and harmless to human beings. Its presence in the lake around the Mahavishnu temple reminds one of the well-known Gajendra Moksha stories in the Bhagavatha Puranam."

70
Approx. age of Babia

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