Kerala’s vegetarian crocodile ‘Babiya’ dies at Ananthapura lake temple; devotees throng to pay tribute
At the Ananthapura Lake Temple in the Majeshwaram Taluk of the Kasaragod district, Babiya, the “vegetarian” crocodile, appeared before the worshippers and blessed them by accepting their offerings, is no longer alive. The crocodile that drew a lot of pilgrims and tourists was discovered dead in the temple pool on Sunday night.
The crocodile has reportedly not been doing well for the past few days, according to a Manorama report. The temple trustee Udayakumar R Gatty stated, “Babiya did not come up for eating in the last two days. We started looking for it, but we were unsuccessful. We discovered it dead in the lake on Sunday night.
When the crocodile died, Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje tweeted that Babiya had arrived to “Vishnu Padam.” Kerala devotees lament the death of their vegetarian crocodile.
The age of Babiya, a crocodile, was estimated to be 75. As devotees flocked to the temple to provide food throughout the years, she became a source of interest for many of them. To fulfil their aspirations, the worshippers made offerings. Following morning and afternoon pujas, the temple provided her with food.
Babiya is said to have arrived in the temple pond a few days after a British soldier shot a crocodile there in 1945. To everyone’s surprise, Babiya—who never posed a threat—obediently emerged from the water and devoured the offering. It was given the title “vegetarian crocodile” since it didn’t hurt fish or other animals and was said to be surviving solely on offerings made by the public and the temple.
The crocodile occasionally emerged from its lakeside lair and approached the shrine. When Babiya performed “Darshanam” in front of the shrine on one of these occasions and it was captured by the devotees, it received a lot of media attention, particularly on social media.
