Rom Whitaker Part 1 (Interview Only)

On this episode, we have a conversation with Dr. Marisa Tellez of the Crocodile Research Coalition in Belize. We talk about crocodilian parasites, local and indigenous outreach, the mystery of the 'White Walker Crocodiles', and the IUCN SSC Crocodile Specialist Group meeting in Morocco.    For more information about Dr. Tellez's work, please visit https://crocodileresearchcoalition.org/

In this episode Rom Whitaker returns to talk about his new memoir 'Snakes, Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll', his time working with Bill Haast, human-snake conflict in India, and many more exciting topics   Notes from Rom   Agumbe Rainforest Research Station - where we do our king cobra work: https://www.agumberainforest.org   Our main king cobra man, Ajay Giri's exciting adventures: https://www.youtube.com/@AjayGiriKCEC/videos   Madras Crocodile Bank and Centre for Herpetology: https://www.madrascrocodilebank.org   Gharial Ecology Project links: https://www.instagram.com/gharialecologyproject/, https://www.facebook.com/GharialEcologyProject/   First World Congress on Snakes in Sri Lanka - October 1-4, 2026 - https://www.worldsnakes26.com/   And here is the banking information for anyone interested in supporting the Madras Crocodile Bank's Snakebite Mitigation Project - apologies, it's a wee bit cumbersome, but India has strict rules about receiving donations from abroad: FCRA Registration No.: 075820118 Account Holder: Madras Crocodile Bank Trust Bank Name: State Bank of India, New Delhi Main Branch (Branch Code: 00691) Bank Address: FCRA Division, 11 Parliament Street, New Delhi – 110001, India Account Number: 40103204057 SWIFT Code: SBININBB104 IFSC Code: SBIN0000691 Account Currency: INR 

Dan and Casey talk with herpetology and conservation legend Rom Whitaker. Rom is the founder of the  Madras Crocodile Bank Trust and Madras Snake Park. His work in conservation was instrumental in saving the Indian gharial as well as king cobras. 

Dan and Casey talk to PhD Candidate Sonnie Flores about her work on saltwater crocodile acoustic communication and behaviour.    REFERENCES Sonnie's Paper Flores, S.A., Dwyer, R.G., Parsons, S., Potvin, D.A., 2026. Roars, Rumbles, and Resonance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Crocodylian Acoustic Signals. Ecology and Evolution 16, e72494. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.72494     Formants and honesty in alligator acoustic signals Reber, S.A., Janisch, J., Torregrosa, K., Darlington, J., Vliet, K.A., Fitch, W.T., 2017. Formants provide honest acoustic cues to body size in American alligators. Scientific reports 7, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-01948-1   Reber, S.A., Nishimura, T., Janisch, J., Robertson, M., Fitch, W.T., 2015. A Chinese alligator in heliox: formant frequencies in a crocodilian. J Exp Biol 218, 2442–2447. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.119552     Potential individuality in alligator bellows Jensen, T.R., Anikin, A., Osvath, M., Reber, S.A., 2024. Knowing a fellow by their bellow: acoustic individuality in the bellows of the American alligator. Animal behaviour 207, 157–167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2023.11.009     Call frequency decreases as hatchlings age Vergne, A.L., Avril, A., Martin, S., Mathevon, N., 2007. Parent-offspring communication in the Nile crocodile Crocodylus niloticus: Do newborns’ calls show an individual signature? Die Naturwissenschaften 94, 49–54. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-006-0156-4     Sequences of courtship displays varies among species, but the elements that are displayed stay the same Garrick, L.D., Lang, J.W., 1977. Social Signals and Behaviors of Adult Alligators and Crocodiles. American zoologist 17, 225–239. https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/17.1.225     Crocodilians adjust signals due to habitat type – but evidence for this is conflicting as one paper supports this and the other does not Dinets, V., 2013. Do individual crocodilians adjust their signaling to habitat structure? Ethology, ecology & evolution 25, 174–184. https://doi.org/10.1080/03949370.2012.744358 Dinets, V., 2013. Long-Distance Signaling in Crocodylia. Copeia 2013, 517–526. https://doi.org/10.1643/CE-12-125     Behaviours differ between captive and wild American alligators Walsh, Z.C., Olson, H., Clendening, M., Rycyk, A., 2022. Social Behavior Deficiencies in Captive American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis). Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens 3, 131–146. https://doi.org/10.3390/jzbg3010011     Gharial pops show differences in individual identity and context based on temporal parameters Ajji M, J., Lang, J.W., 2025. Gharial acoustic signaling: Novel underwater pops are temporally based, context-dependent, seasonally stable, male-specific, and individually distinctive. Journal of anatomy. https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.14171     Low frequency signals produced by the African dwarf crocodile Staniewicz, A., McCabe, G., Holderied, M., 2023. The low-frequency vocal repertoire of adult African dwarf crocodiles. African Journal of Herpetology 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/21564574.2023.2237035

Dan and Casey introduce the show with an interview with Dan Carvalho himself. We talk about his life from working at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park, to some adventures abroad, to his fascination with micro geckos.