The heavy rain lashing across the State for the past few days may invite some unwelcome guests, snakes, to your homes.
With their hiding places and natural habitats being flooded, there is the high possibility of snakes, lizards, centipedes, and amphibians moving to safety, especially the warm and dry places. The chances of encountering these reptiles at the peripheral areas of the houses like verandahs, car porches, and abandoned structures, and also in shoe racks are high these days, said Sandeep Das, a herpetologist.
During the monsoon, when rain gradually picks up, the animals living in burrows and crevices would get time to move out of their resting places and shift to safe locations. However, the untimely and unexpected downpour would catch them off-guard, forcing them to seek refuge at the nearby warm and secure places. The verandahs, and car porches would be their easiest choices, explained Mr. Das.
Spectacled Cobra, Common Krait, Russel’s Viper, and Saw-scaled Viper, the big four venomous snakes that could cause death, and the non-venomous Indian Python were some of the common snakes to be expected during these days, he said.
The Forest Department had made the service of over 800 trained snake handlers available across the State, said Y. Muhammad Anwar, State nodal officer for snake rescue, and training of snake handlers. Once the snakes are sighted, the service of the locally available volunteers can be obtained from the app, SARPA. The service of the coordinators would also be available in all the districts, he said.
The coordinators can be contacted at the following numbers: Thiruvananthapuram-M. Sarath 9961832603, Kollam-Liju Thajudheen 9947467006, Idukki-Shaji 9526896411, Pathanamthitta-R. Dinsh 9495697907, Kottayam-Abeesh 8943249386, Alapuzha-Saji Mohan 9446387512, Ernakulam-K.G. Ranjith 9745400706, Thrissur-C.T. Joju 9745547906, Palakkad-Sidharth Sasidharan 9605599024, Malappuram-Javad 9567597897, Kozhikode-Hariprasad 8086505908, Wayanad-O. Vishnu 8606262978, Kannur-C.T. Joju 9745547906, Kasaragod-K.T. Santhosh 8075448337.
