S. Muhammed, 44, is a most sought-after person. For three decades, he has been heeding distress calls from people across the district and trapping deadly snakes such as cobra, viper, and python.
Muhammed claims that he has caught over 4,000 cobras from the district, apart from 300 pythons and scores of vipers with his bare hands. He entered the field at the age of 14 and says he is yet to be bitten by a snake.
“I followed the footsteps of my paternal uncle B. Asainar. I often used to get up to three calls a day to trap cobras that stray into households and other buildings. The snakes are later handed over to the Forest officials to be released in deep woods,” Mr. Muhammed, father of four children, says.
Very often he is summoned to ward off ferocious bees, violent cats, and dogs trapped in wells.
When Mr. Muhammed, a resident of Aramanganam in Uduma grama panchayat, receives frantic calls, he rushes to the spot leaving behind the casual works he takes up otherwise. For catching snakes, he receives varying sums from the callers.
Besides, the Forest Department also offer amounts ranging between ₹5,000 and ₹6,000 a month based on the number of snake safely trapped by him. He says snakes do not attack people unless they are hurt. If the reptiles realise that they are in safe hands, they do not attack.
A bit of courage coupled with knack is what is the essential to trap deadly snakes, Mr. Muhammed, who has trapped four king cobras, says.
It is a myth that coming in contact with viper would cause traumatic injuries that take years to heal. Wounds are caused either by bites or if skeletal remains of viper happen to penetrate human skin, he says
