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Pir Mangho

A shrine in Karachi is home to around 100 crocodiles that are regarded as sacred.

Karachi, Pakistan

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Crocodiles at Pir Mangho   AAMIR QURESHI/AFP via Getty Images
A crocodile at Pir Mangho   Besal1966 / CC BY-SA 4.0
Crocodiles at Pir Mangho   DanishKausar / CC BY-SA 3.0
Crocodiles at Pir Mangho   khadim-un-nabi Rao / CC BY-SA 3.0
  khadim-un-nabi Rao / CC BY-SA 3.0
  Muhammad Saqib Khan
  Max Cortesi / Atlas Obscura User
  Max Cortesi / Atlas Obscura User
  Max Cortesi / Atlas Obscura User
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The shrine to 13th-century Sufi saint Haji Syed Shaikh Sultan, better known as Mangho Pir, is a lake with hot springs. Many crocodiles call this place home and are regarded as sacred to the people and intertwined with the saint's legacy.

There are more than 100 marsh crocodiles (Crocodylus palustris) living at the shrine. Pilgrims who come to pay their respects often bring food for the animals, who are said to be the disciples of Pir Mangho. Some historians say that crocodiles have been gathering at this sulphur pond for centuries—there is some evidence of a Bronze Age settlement near the site that also held the crocodiles in sacred respect.

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Michelle Cassidy

Published

June 21, 2023

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