THIS village held funeral and built memorial for a 130-year-old crocodile, know why

Elephants, leopards, and tigers frequently feature in human-wildlife coexistence narratives in India, but a village in Chhattisgarh reveals an unlikely champion: the crocodile. Gangaram was a gentle and friendly crocodile that the people of Bawa Mohtara regarded as their companion.

In 2019, when the crocodile died at the age of 130, the villagers cremated the crocodile and built a memorial. The villagers trusted Gangaram because he never harmed any children while they played or the women washed clothes by the pond.

Crocodiles are extremely successful top predators that have survived for millions of years with little notable evolution. They are remarkably powerful, stealthy, and nearly unbeatable. Humans might not be their usual victims, but as opportunistic predators, these reptilian giants readily pursue us, particularly when they sense danger. It was evident that Gangaram was truly unique.

For 130 years, Bawa Mohtara coexisted peacefully with its amiable aquatic counterpart, leading to the village being referred to at one time as ‘Magarmachha-wala village’ or Crocodile village.

In January 2019, when he passed away, approximately 500 individuals assembled for his last rites. Gangaram was carried on a tractor and adorned with a garland.

Many mourning households did not even cook food that day. A few years later, the village built a memorial for the crocodile near the pond in which it lived. R K Sinha, the then sub-divisional forest officer, said Bawa Mohtara had offered a rare example of co-existence, given that predators entering human settlements are not usually treated equally. Gangaram also sometimes wandered too far from home, to other villages where he was not as welcome, and had to be brought back to his pond. There are a few communities elsewhere in the country that live so close to crocodiles and have such mutual respect for them.