Romulus Whitaker

Romulus Earl Whitaker is an American-born Indian herpetologist, wildlife conservationist, who founded the Madras Snake Park, co-founded the Andaman and Nicobar Environment Trust (ANET), and the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust. In 1984, he was selected by the Rolex Awards for Enterprise as an associate laureate for his work in establishing the Irula snake-catchers cooperative. In 2008, he was selected again for his efforts to create a network of rainforest research stations throughout India. In 2005, he won a Whitley Award for outstanding leadership in nature conservation. He used this award to found the Agumbe Rainforest Research Station in Karnataka, for the study of king cobras and their habitat. For his work in wildlife conservation, he received the Padma Shri award in 2018 by the Government of India.