THRISSUR: With the mercury steadily inching up, the cobras are having a field day in the state. In a surprising first, a snake catcher in Thrissur has managed to catch as many as 60 snakes here, in less than a month.“This is the first time in my 30-year-long career that I have caught 60 snakes from the town in a month. Normally in April, my catch would hover around 25 to 30 cobras, but this is surely an all-time record in my career,” Xavier, the snake-catcher told Express.The catch includes several exotic species.Apart from 49 Indian Cobras, there are two King Cobras, 5 Russell’s Vipers and four rat snakes. While one King Cobra was caught from Idukki, the other was captured from Thrissur.The majority of the snakes Xavier captured this month was either from wells or from kitchens and other wet areas of houses. “This is a clear indication that the rising temperature is prompting the reptiles to go out in search of cool and wet areas,” he said.A wildlife watcher with the Forest Department in Peechi, Xavier also used to attend other cases of wild animals at large, including leopards, monkeys and civet cats. On the directions of the Forest Department, Xavier takes the snakes he catches to the interior forest areas and releases them there.However, several experts warn that this move might backfire. E A Jaison, a scientist at the Kerala Forest Research Institute, said there is no scientific evidence linking the number of snakes caught and the rise in temperature. “Itis very much possible that people have become more aware about snakebite and its consequences and they are now outsourcing the snake-catching task to the Forest Department instead of doing it on their own,” he said.He further said that as per the accounts of people living near the forest, thesnakes return to human habitats as soon as they are released in the forest.Anyway the figures are also telling another sorry state of affair. In 2010, 760snake bites were reported in Thrissur alone, of which 40 victims died. The data of 2011 are not available. Though Xavier catches snakes, he is all sympathetic to the reptiles. The government has to sensitise people about snakes.They are no longer enemies of humans but is a part of our eco-system. There are many misconceptions about snakes, but the truth is that snakes don’t bite unless you frighten them, he says.He normally catches only poisonous snakes. When he comes across non-poisonous ones he spares them as they are the best friends of farmers. They help keep the rodent population under control, he says.
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