The diversity of reptiles in Arunachal Pradesh is truly awe-inspiring. Its mountainous terrain has some very unique and not often seen species. It is also a region where people live in close proximity to wild lands and animals.
Snakebite is possibly a big issue in this region as there is no antivenom produced against the venom of any species found here. The objective of this expedition is to collect venoms from various species with a particular focus
on Kaulback’s Pit Viper (Protobothrops kaulbacki). This species is tremendously
feared by local folk, is reported to grow to almost two meters and is definitely India’s largest known pit viper. At this size, it could well deserve the respect that it gets. We are scheduling this expedition to the region to coincide with the time that this species is meant to be most active.
Our previous expedition there yielded 13 species of snakes; 4 of them venomous ones. We are eager to increase our sample size of a couple of these species as well as add Kaulback’s and Jerdon’s pit vipers to our sample. We will be working in and around a small hamlet called Leporiang, approximately five hours from Itanagar.
Your participation funds this expedition while giving you this unique
and exclusive opportunity. If you are interested, please get in
touch with Gerry at gerry@gerrymartin.in or call him on
+91-984-577-9666.
Venom expedition in Northeast India, Aug 2011
