'God’s own' crocodile frozen and displayed with floral crown for grieving visitors

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crocodile which died in a temple pond it lived in for 70 years has been frozen so mourners can pay their respects.Babiya the 'vegetarian' crocodile attained a divine status by scoffing offerings of rice and jaggery at Sree Ananthapadmanabha Swamy Temple at Kumbla in Kasaragod district, Kerala, India.On Sunday night the reptile was found lifeless in the shrine's pond and was taken by temple staff who kept it in a mobile freezer to delay Babiya's corpse rotting until mourners had a chance to say their farewells. READ MORE: Humans once had spiky penises and animal with four-headed pecker still has itTemple trust board chairman Udaya Kumar said: “We had the rituals and prayers associated with the burial of a Hindu swamiji.

The body was lowered to the pit near the temple. In future, devotees can come and pray at the ‘samadhi’.’’Udaya admitted that Babiya probably snacked on meat here and there but the croc's hunger for rice was enough to win them over.“We don’t claim that the crocodile was fully vegetarian.

However, it used to consume the offerings of the temple,’’ he said.Union Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Shoba Karandlaje took to Twitter to share her condolences.She wrote: “Babiya, the God’s own crocodile of Sri Ananthapura Lake temple has reached Vishnu Padam.

The divine crocodile lived in the temple’s lake for over 70 years by eating the rice & jaggery prasadam of Sri Ananthapadmanabha Swamy & guarded the temple.’’Unlike countless horror stories shared around the world of terrifying human encounters with crocodiles, never did Babiya show signs of aggression to worshippers.For more incredible stories from the Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters hereIt is unknown as to how.