Snake catchers of Irula community, Forest Department staff feted

On World Snake Day 2023 on Sunday, members of the wildlife rescue team of Chennai Forest Division that rescues 4,000 snakes annually were felicitated at an event organised by Wildlife Portal of India, a city-based forum involved in wildlife conservation.

E. Prasanth, Wildlife Warden, Chennai, felicitated C. Kali, his wife K. Alamelu and D. Ramesh of the Irula community for their work in rescuing snakes. 

“Usually we hear news of elephants, bears, leopards entering habitation in towns adjoining forests. We don’t associate wildlife with Chennai but the presence of animals here holds more significance,” said Mr. Prasanth.

Nishanth Ravi, founder of the Wildlife Portal of India, said while there were more than 140 species of snakes in Tamil Nadu, highest in the country, only 60 to 70 were actually venomous. In Chennai, the “big four” venomous ones are the spectacled cobra, common krait, Russell’s viper, and the saw scaled viper.

Mr. Ravi and his team outlined techniques to identify snakes, differentiate venomous ones from non-venomous species such as indian rock python, rat snake, checkered keelback, and the green vine snake to avoid hurting them and take quick treatment in case of a bite. 

“There have been many instances when people mistook Russell’s viper for something else and have missed getting treated soon and died as a result,” said Arjun, a member of Wildlife Portal of India.

Highlighting the importance of learning about snakes, Mr. Ravi said people tend to harm the snake in panic. “But not many know that snakes are protected under the Wildlife Act,” he said.