Increase in Snake- Human encounters in Bengaluru
In Bengaluru, there has been an increase in snake – human encounters this year. According to reports, more people are finding snakes in their houses.
Bengaluru, Sept 23, 2022
Rescue of reptiles has increased by 37.5 percent from 2021-2022, most of which are snakes (source PFA Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Centre).
Residents of Kalyan Nagar have repeatedly been having snake encounters in their houses. One resident says, “There is a drain here nearby. Big snakes are coming in our houses”. His neighbor Nalini says, “People throw garbage and snakes come. We are scared to step out of our houses.”
According to experts, drains, roads everything has been concretized in Bengaluru and snakes are trying to find empty places. Now people find them in their houses, gardens, kitchens or under their bed. Snake rescuer Mohan K works in the east zone of Bengaluru and has been rescuing snakes since more than two decades. He says, “In east zone, earlier I used to receive only 15 to 20 calls per day. Now they have been increasing. We are getting 20 to 25 calls per day”.”
Across India, we have the big four venomous snakes which are contributing to human fatalities. They are Spectacled cobra, Common krait, Russell’s viper and Saw-scaled viper. According to experts, In Bengaluru the most common snake responsible for human fatalities is Cobra followed by Russell’s viper and Krait.
According to Priyanka Kadam (Founder, Snake Bite Healing and Education Society, “Climate change, increase in population, unplanned townships with unstable sewage systems and loss of green cover are all reasons for higher interaction between snakes and humans. Even unplanned slum system mushrooming in most metro cities exist with non-existing garbage management. A whole system that supports rodents exists and is an invitation for snakes”.
P Gowri Shankar (Founder Director, Kalinga Centre for Rainforest Ecology) explains the real cause of the problem. He says, “I think the biggest problem is habitat destruction. So actually, they are not coming into the city, we are going into their habitat. Snakes haven’t encroached us; we have encroached their habitat. So, the only solution I see is coexistence.”
According to Gowri Shankar, there is no way we can get rid of them as they have been here for millions of years. We need to learn to live with them. With more information we will have less fear.
