THE STATESMAN (Kolkata, India) 21 September 05 Worse Than Cobras. Looks can be deceptive. Pythons look sluggish but can attack with tremendous speed, as AK Sahay found in the course of a chance encounter
I happened to be at Top Slip in Tamil Nadu and, while getting back to Mysore, I’d decided to stop over for a day at Bandipur. We arrived there at night and with not much to do we decided to hit the bed early so as to be able to rise with the lark and foray into the forest for an early morning look-see. We rose early enough and by about 5 am, just as we were about to get into a Jeep, it started to rain and the incessant downpour lasted till about 11.30 am.
Now Bandipur isn’t a high-rain zone area and I’d never experienced anything like this during earlier trips. Understandably, our spirits were dampened because going into the forest was out of question
What was there to do? In the wild, you always want to make the best of opportunity because it really is difficult to find time for such adventure. We were supposed to leave the place by about 5 p.m. and so much time had gone down the drain, in a manner of speaking. Elephant and gaur were out of the question now. Bandipur in the morning presents perhaps the greatest gathering of spotted deer, which is always a visual treat. That was out of the question now. So I approached a forest official who told me that all that could be done was to go for an elephant ride. He also warned me not to venture out on foot because a tusker had recently killed a man very close by. Anyway, elephant rides aren’t my cup of tea because I always fail to take steady photographs from atop a mammoth on the move.
So I hit upon an idea and without telling anyone I sneaked into the forest. I reckoned birds might come out into the open after the rain to dry their wings and so I decided to try my luck at catching sight of them. I heard parakeets calling from a distance and couldn’t hold myself back. It had rained very heavily earlier that day and the trees were still dripping. When I looked up, the sun had slipped behind the clouds and I was convinced it was going to be one nasty day. Cursing my luck, I thought of returning to my room and giving my frustrations full flow when I caught sight of a grey hornbill.
I lit up at this change of fortune and I prepared to photograph the bird. I was trying to get closer when I noticed a snake right in front of me. Startled, I jumped back. It was a python on a tree, its tongue out, and it was all prepared to investigate my presence. Very scary indeed. After a while, though, it stopped uncoiling. It was a young reptile and I reckoned it couldn’t cause serious injury. With that, I proceeded to take some reasonably good photographs.
Mind you, if it had an adult python I wouldn’t have ventured that close because I know pythons can, at times, be more aggressive than cobras. They are huge creatures and look very sluggish, but there have been many incidences when people have been suddenly attacked with grievous injury.
Pythons aren’t poisonous but when they bite, it can really hurt badly. And they’re very unpredictable, never flashing any warning. Cobras raise their hoods and some vipers almost leave the ground when they’re agitated, but a python looks so relaxed till suddenly it bursts into aggressive mode and pounces upon you.
Indeed, some snakes are difficult to identify but pythons are very easily noticed by even those who don’t know much about the snakes. Their great length and considerable girth, coupled with their colour, make them easily identifiable. There are certain features unique to this reptile. Its movement is different from all other snakes in that it moves in a straight line like a millipede. If you observe its movement closely you can’t help notice the waves of motion of its ribs in quick succession. They are very versatile in their habits as well. The python is at ease in water and can swim very well. It can even climb trees in search of food. Because of its huge body, it is not credited with much intelligence but it has an uncanny knack of knowing where it can find prey.
In the vicinity of water, it often positions itself in the shallow section near the banks, with only its snout out of the water. In certain areas of Kerala, pythons are reported to assemble in good strength to live off rats in coconut plantations and fish in the water. This is interesting because they are generally seen in single units.
Pythons mainly feed on birds, mammals and reptiles and they don’t seem to discriminate between birds and fellow reptiles. They kill prey by constriction. When a python sights its prey it often moves with quivering tail and lunges with open mouth. It spreads itself over its victim and kills by squeezing the life out of it.
Suffocation does the trick. First the head is seized and then the lower jaws inch forward to gradually swallow its prey.
While the python commonly feeds on smaller animals, there have been recorded cases of it devouring bigger game like deer. The victim is first immobilised and then suffocated to death. In some cases, the animal has been known to have engaged in a rolling wrestle before the python subdues it. Before it begins to swallow its prey, the python “smells” it all over with its tongue. And when the swallowing starts, its windpipe extends to assist in breathing. After a heavy meal, which is often exhausting, pythons are known to rest for a long period. While they are heavy eaters they can also survive without food for a very long time.
Pythons thrive in almost all kinds of terrain but you really have to be lucky to see them in the wild. You might still catch sight of a tiger in Ranthambore or Bandhavgarh but you can never be sure of seeing a python in any particular forest. I’ve seen them in places like Bharatpur in Rajasthan and Bandhavgarh in Madhya Pradesh.
Once, while I was on the way to Kolhapur from Samnatwadi and was passing the Radhnagari Bison Sanctuary, I chanced upon a medium-sized python crawling across the road. Bharatpur, in fact, is still the best place to try and spot pythons. The rickshawallas there — at least some of them — are very adept at locating them.
I remember Vivek R Sinha, an ace photographer, having a very interesting experience in Bharatpur. He first spotted a python swimming with only the tip of its mouth above water. It then submerged itself about 10 metres away from a flock of bar-headed geese. Suddenly one goose was pulled below as it tried in vain to free itself from the grip of the python.
So much for python sluggishness, then. And if you still don’t get the message, never underestimate this reptile. Follow the well-known wildlife rule and maintain a safe distance.
(The author is a senior member of the Bombay Natural History Society and the India International Photographic Council.)
Worse Than Cobras.