Coimbatore: Why would a snake waste something as precious as it’s venom, to attack a human being, who is not it’s natural prey? Do snakes really take revenge on people? Do snakes really spit ‘Naga Manickam after a 100 years? These questions always slither around the human mind, when one thinks of snakes, a reptile known to shake even an army.
Coimbatore: Why would a snake waste something as precious as it’s venom, to attack a human being, who is not it’s natural prey? Do snakes really take revenge on people? Do snakes really spit ‘Naga Manickam after a 100 years? These questions always slither around the human mind, when one thinks of snakes, a reptile known to shake even an army.
With over exposure to non-scientific and cinematic views on snakes, a typical Indian mind is tuned to see snakes as a villain, who is often killed by a perplexed mob. While snakes continue to die at the hands of people because of lack of awareness, an eye opening session on snakes at the Nature Trail along the Singanallur Lake proved more than useful for people.
The 15th Nature trail organised by CUBE (Centre for Urban Biodiversity Conservation and Education) at Singanallur Lake on Sunday was all about Indian snakes – myths and facts. The session was lead by Mahesh and Krishna Kumar, nature educators and snake rescuers.
The session in which more than 40 people participated, intriguing information on Snakes, their connection with humans, nature and the surrounding myths were discussed.
Claiming that lack of awareness was the major reason being people’s fear on snakes, snake rescuer Mahesh emphasised that there are about 270 species of snakes in India out of which only 60 species are venomous.
“Out of these 60 species, more than half of them live in seas and others in mountains and hilly areas. Only four types of venomous snakes live in areas near human settlements and they are Saw-Scaled Viper (Suruttai Viriyan), Russell’s Viper (Kannadi Viriyan), Cobra (Naagam) and Krait (Kattu Viriyan). Slender coral snake is another venomous snake, which is highly rare to find in city areas,” says Mahesh.
"Only when people are aware of the snakes they will learn to react, the right way. By identifying the patterns, one can alert the forest department, if they find highly venomous snakes in their residential areas or premises. Lack of awareness will lead to unnecessary panic and killing of the snake", opined Mahesh.
He also warned the people to refrain from trying to catch a snake on their own. An expert or the forest department should be alerted in such cases. Owing to numerous myths, people kill and burn snakes, which is highly condemnable.
Mahesh added that snakes are part of the billion species living in this Earth. The long legless reptiles play a pivotal role in maintaining a balance in the vast bio-diversity.
Notably, according to Krishna Kumar of CUBE, all the major four venomous snakes of india are found in the Singanallur Lake in the City.
Talking about the misidentification of snakes, Mahesh said that one should never touch any snake at any cost, as some venomous and non-venomous snakes look similar. He also threw light on how to identify them based on the patterns at ease.
“Saw Scaled Viper (venomous) and Common Cat snake have a similar body pattern. However, the marks on their head differ from each other. While Saw scaled viper has a plus mark, common cat snake carries a Y shaped mark” he noted.
Mahesh also noted that Kraits are highly venomous and attack with painless bites. "Kraits have a major role in controlling snake population since they wholly consume other snakes as food", he explained.
“The anti-venom available in hospitals mostly do not cure all snake bites. Comparatively, India records more fatal snake bites than other countries because of the unavailability of necessary medications in the country", he said.
When questioned if tying a cloth around the area of snake bite is a approved practice, Mahesh said "No, it is not always recommended, it may lead to fatal effects, at times "
“Having a basic knowledge about snakes is a must. Only then during a unfortunate situation, if someone encounters a snake bite they will be able to identify it was a venomous or a non-venomous snake. Any snake bite should be treated on priority. Timely administration of anti-venom injections can save lives however even a small delay can turn fatal. Importantly, the victim should not panic during such times", Mahesh said.
Along with common public, members from Tamil Nadu Forest Academy also attended the session. “The nature trail session was very informative with details on how to identify venomous snakes and also busted various myths surrounding it. It has also helped us overcome the fear of snakes and has taught us not to harm them. They must be protected just like other animals” shared a Post Graduate student from Coimbatore forest college.
Mahesh stressed that people should learn more about snakes to understand they are such incredible creatures worthy of our respect and protection - and animals that we can learn to live with.