New crocodile Babia makes first full appearance at Sri Ananthapura Temple

A new crocodile, referred to as Babia-3, which appeared months ago at the famed Sri Ananthapura temple, has made its first full appearance in the temple premises on Friday evening.

The temple pond was home to a crocodile for approximately 80 years until its death on October 9, 2022. Exactly a year after its passing, a new crocodile hatchling was spotted in the pond. However, no one had seen it fully until now.

On June 14, the young crocodile was seen resting on a slab of stone in front of the temple’s sanctum sanctorum. The temple had closed for the day, and when the priests arrived in the evening, they noticed the crocodile and recorded the sighting.