Goa, Feb. 14 -- Octogenarian Romulus Whitaker came to India first as a six-year-old and then as a 24-year-old. While one might think that the well-known herpetologist and wildlife conservationist and the founder of the Madras Snake Park and the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust, will be a serious man, on the contrary, Romulus is a happy-go-lucky person, who never gets tired of what he is doing.

When Romulus came to India in 1951, he was admitted in Kodaikanal International School where he had a pet python in the boarding school. However, it was his mother that introduced him to the world of reptiles as she said 'It's beautiful' when he brought home a snake for the first time. After a short visit back to the USA, Romulus earned his way back to ...