The Principal Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden has permitted noted herpetologist Romulus Whitaker and his team to carry out telemetric tracking studies on rat snakes and king cobras. They have also been allowed documentation through photography or videography up to February 28, 2009, in the protected areas and reserve forests at Agumbe in Shimoga district, Someshwara in Udupi and Sringeri and Koppa in Chikmagalur district. This will be subject to certain terms and conditions. Mr. Whitaker, founder of the Snake Park and Crocodile Bank in Chennai, along with his associates, started a five-year research project on the king cobras