A crocodile has died from overeating after record numbers of worshippers started throwing goats and chickens into its pond in a bid to get good luck.
For years, visitors had gone to the Hazrat Khan Jahan Ali Shrine in Sadar Upazila of Bagerhat district in south-western Bangladesh, in the belief that feeding the crocodile would guarantee them luck in troubled economic times.
But priests at the shrine said that a large number of worshippers in recent months had been turning up and offering sacrifices to the crocodile, who had rapidly grown very fat from the offerings.
Crocodile keeper Mohammed Sarwar, 40, said: 'We were aware of the problem but were not sure what to do about it. The legend is that anybody who feeds the hunger of the crocodiles will have their hearts desire fulfilled.
'Usually it was just a chicken but more recently people have been offering even more, including goats, believing that big sacrifices meant more chance of a wish being granted.'
According to local legend, the pond containing the crocodile had been dug by the Muslim saint Hazrat Khan Jahan Ali 600-years-ago. He used it to rear two crocodiles named Kalopahar and Dholapahar.
Until recently, there were four crocodiles in the pond but the other three had also died from obesity related problems, leaving a massive food supply for the final remaining crocodile.
When an offering was made, the crocodile was summoned by priests who would bang a gong and announce that dinner was served, prompting the crocodile minutes later to surface and eat the preferred offering.
However when staff turned up for work one morning they discovered the crocodile floating upside down in the pond and realised it had died.
Crocodiles have a lifespan similar to humans generally living between 70 and 100-years-old, with one of the oldest specimens dying in a Russian zoo aged 115.
For years, visitors had gone to the Hazrat Khan Jahan Ali Shrine in Sadar Upazila of Bagerhat district in south-western Bangladesh, in the belief that feeding the crocodile would guarantee them luck in troubled economic times.
But priests at the shrine said that a large number of worshippers in recent months had been turning up and offering sacrifices to the crocodile, who had rapidly grown very fat from the offerings.
Crocodile keeper Mohammed Sarwar, 40, said: 'We were aware of the problem but were not sure what to do about it. The legend is that anybody who feeds the hunger of the crocodiles will have their hearts desire fulfilled.
'Usually it was just a chicken but more recently people have been offering even more, including goats, believing that big sacrifices meant more chance of a wish being granted.'
According to local legend, the pond containing the crocodile had been dug by the Muslim saint Hazrat Khan Jahan Ali 600-years-ago. He used it to rear two crocodiles named Kalopahar and Dholapahar.
Until recently, there were four crocodiles in the pond but the other three had also died from obesity related problems, leaving a massive food supply for the final remaining crocodile.
When an offering was made, the crocodile was summoned by priests who would bang a gong and announce that dinner was served, prompting the crocodile minutes later to surface and eat the preferred offering.
However when staff turned up for work one morning they discovered the crocodile floating upside down in the pond and realised it had died.
Crocodiles have a lifespan similar to humans generally living between 70 and 100-years-old, with one of the oldest specimens dying in a Russian zoo aged 115.
Source : DailyMail , 9 News
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