Over the years, I've heard a plethora of stories about people going completely berserk when they encounter snakes. I'm still mystified by this disproportionate reaction to these mostly benign creatures.
One of the most memorable stories is of a Florida man who spotted a rattlesnake while he was mowing his lawn. I can almost imagine his villainous laugh when he decided to run over the poor snake. The blades chopped the snake to pieces, leaving a bloody mess. But he got his just desserts when the severed head flew through the air and the twitching muscles caused the snake's jaws to clamp onto the man's cheek. He barely survived the severe envenomation.
The Tamil goddess movies get the general premise right: be evil to snakes and pay the price. But, some people just don't seem to get it. Several years ago, we were travelling through the wet forests of Karnataka looking for king cobras. We stopped at a tea estate where Rom had caught one in the 1970s. The estate manager and his wife were gracious hosts, thrusting home-made cookies and cakes at us, so we were forced to nod in sympathy at the tale they narrated.
The manager had been away from home when his wife spotted a king cobra atop a giant silver oak tree near the gatepost. If she had let the snake be, it would have eventually gone away. Instead she had hysterically ordered the workers to bring the tree down. The snake then sought shelter by climbing another tree, so that one was hacked down as well. The harassed creature then escaped into the garage. She had it set on fire and very nearly burnt the house down as well! As the injured king cobra slithered out, the manager arrived on the scene with his shot gun and dispatched it.
Fire-arms and snakes just don't go well together, like guns and booze. While out in the woods, an Iranian hunter came upon a snake, and it's not clear if he was trying to catch or kill it. He used the butt of his rifle to pin the snake's head, and as most snake people will tell you, when you do that the tail feels around seeking a purchase. In this case, it accidentally found the trigger and shot the hunter fatally in the head!
As people slalom down the waterways of South Carolina in their motor boats, water snakes (and occasionally a venomous moccasin) basking on overhanging branches dive into the water in fright.
But sometimes, the creatures land in the boats passing by. Some panicky fishermen have been known to shoot the hapless snakes, sinking their boats in the process!
This one takes the cake. In Mississippi, a man saw a snake crawling along his garage and took a shot at it with his double-barrelled shotgun. Unfortunately for him, just behind the snake was a whole box of dynamite which exploded, killing the reptile, the man and completely destroying the building!
It's not only while killing snakes that people destroy property, get hurt or even killed. Take the case of these two amateur snake-fanciers in South Africa. They saw a stiletto snake, one of the most unique venomous snakes in the world. If you are stupid enough to hold its neck, its fangs open like switchblades outwards through the side of its mouth and the snake strikes backwards into your hand; it doesn't even need to open its mouth! One of men picked it up and promptly got bit seven times! Calling the bitten man a sissy, his friend proceeded to pick up the snake. And, of course, he got bit too. Both men are out of danger, but picking up snakes, you don't know, is a very stupid thing to do.
I'm beginning to think that people's reactions to snakes are the definitive test of their IQ. The most sensible thing anyone can do when seeing a snake is simply admire it, and leave it well alone.
(The author can be reached at >janaki@gmail.com )
