The Hindu

Bangalore, May 3: A project on the conservation of the king cobra, taken up by noted herpetologist Romulus Whitaker in the rainforests of Agumbe in the Western Ghats, has come to a halt following withdrawal of permission by the Forest Department (Wildlife Division).

The department withdrew permission for the project nearly a month ago following allegations made against Mr. Whitaker by Member of Parliament Maneka Gandhi. The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) has asked Deputy Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), Shimoga Division, Milo Tago to conduct the inquiry.

Mr. Whitaker, founder of the Snake Park and Crocodile Bank in Chennai, along with his associates started a five-year research project on the king cobra, the largest of India's venomous snakes, in mid-2005. Earlier this year, he entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Karnataka Forest Department for setting the king cobra telemetry project.

It is learnt that Ms. Maneka Gandhi has sought an inquiry into the allegations of misuse of the project funds and the capture of king cobras for the extraction and export of venom by Mr. Whitaker.

"The withdrawal of permission has come as a bitter disappointment and I believe is a knee-jerk reaction to allegations made by a former employee," Mr. Whitaker told The Hindu .

He said: "I am perplexed that such infantile allegations can be taken seriously. It is neither fair nor right."

Mr. Whitaker is a recipient of the Whitley Award, United Kingdom's prestigious conservation award, instituted by the Whitley Laing Foundation.

The project on the king cobra will study the king cobras' unique nesting behaviour, breeding biology and conservation through telemetric tracking.

Mr. Whitaker said, "Science is critical to our understanding of this important species and we are still at the kindergarten level. We cannot recommend anything reasonable about its conservation and management until we study it."