Crocodile park sheds Steve Irwin’s name

The Kerala Wildlife Department has dropped the name of legendary Australian television personality and wildlife expert Steve Irwin from the title of its crocodile park at Neyyar, in Thiruvananthapuram district, to avoid the charge of violating intellectual property rights.

Steve Irwin’s widow Terri Irwin had sent a legal notice to the Wildlife Department few months ago alleging violation of intellectual property rights in using her late husband’s name for the crocodile park.

The department had given his name to the park, which had been in existence since 1977, to honour him for his work as a conservationist, but did not seek Ms. Irwin’s consent for doing so.

The naming happened in 2006, soon after Steve Irwin was killed while filming in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, pierced in the chest by a stingray barb.

“We had no intention of violating intellectual property rights.

“We meant it as a token of our respect for him and his work as a naturalist and conservationist,” Kerala Chief Wildlife Warden K.P. Ouseph said.

The park, situated close to the Neyyar Dam on the foothills of the Agasthyavanam Biosphere in South India, will henceforth be known as ‘Agasthya Crocodile Rehabilitation and Research Centre.’ It is home to a large gathering of fresh water crocodiles, known as ‘muggers.’