NEW INDIAN EXPRESS (Chennai, India) 12 November 13 Are you afraid of snakes? Don’t be! (Sanjay Sondhi)

My mother is petrified of snakes, to the extent that her fear is irrational. Despite the fact that some of my conservation work involves snakes, and that I have been photographing and writing about them for a while (and occasionally handling them), my mother’s reaction remains unchanged.

During one of our nature outings many years ago, when my son was a youngster, he handled a snake under supervision of experts, and my mother saw the photographs. Initially she was horrified, but later told us that she understood that her fear of snakes was irrational, and if her young, 12-year-old grandson could handle a snake, then she would try and not be afraid of them, too.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about a snake that I rescued in our garden for a nature column that I write. I emailed my article to my parents, and a few days later my mother called me. She said that her fear of snakes had not gone away, and the whole night she had horrid dreams about snakes after reading the article!

I consoled her, but there was little I could do or say to help her overcome her irrational fear.

The snake that I found in our society was the Russell’s viper (Daboia russeli). This snake is widespread in India. It can grow up to 1.8 m in length and is easily recognised because of its triangular head and a series of oval or round black-edged brown spots on its upper body. Along with the spectacled cobra, saw-scaled viper and the common krait, it forms the ‘Big Four’ among snakes in India. These four snakes are responsible for most of the deaths on account of snakebite. Fortunately, a common anti-venom serum for these four snakes exists in most government hospitals.

The Russell’s viper is mostly nocturnal in behaviour, and can be seen in both urban and rural areas. The snake can be aggressive if threatened, but will normally never attack unprovoked. Most bites by this viper occur when someone steps on it by mistake, as it bites to protect itself.

A Russell’s viper bit an aunt of mine many years ago when she was stepping out of her car. Fortunately, she was rushed to a hospital and survived the bite.

If you do encounter a Russell’s viper, or any snake for that matter, the best response is not to step on the snake! Don’t try and catch or handle the snake; just allow it to slither away, and it will not harm you.
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