Thiruvananthapuram: With snakebites surging, people call catchers without checking if snakes are venomous, and this fear-driven trend harms local ecology. Yet the issue is often ignored, as the forest dept is focused on removing the problem rather than solving it holistically.Forest dept has been relocating the rescued snakes mostly into forest areas as there has been considerable resistance against releasing them even in sparsely populated areas. Often, the rescued snakes are released together in large numbers. Their release can also impact the ecology in the forest, as these snakes can spread infection. It is estimated that around 2,000 snakes are being rescued every month. Experts say that large-scale relocation of snakes into forests or areas far from their habitat would cause their death and lead to an increase in the rodent population in human settlements, which will have long-term consequences. Dileep Kumar R from Centre for Venom Informatics at University of Kerala said that “Long-distance translocation (typically over 3km) of snakes often leads to severe negative outcomes. Snakes moved far from their home range frequently exhibit frantic, erratic movements as they try to navigate an unfamiliar landscape.” He also said that access to feed would be difficult because the snakes are used to feeding on rodents and other creatures in human habitats. Dileep Kumar said that the forest dept should have a standard operating procedure to release the rescued snakes in a scientific manner by considering all aspects of the snakes and the characteristics of the wild. Albert Rajendran, a herpetologist and former professor of zoology from Tirunelveli, said, “A full-grown snake must have lived in the area for at least 10 years. We think it is safe to relocate them, but it will take time to adapt to new surroundings and may meet a predator. A rat snake released in a forested area will die within two to three days. We do not know many things about the life of snakes.” However, Muhammed Anwar, nodal officer of Mission Sarpa, says that “We have a guideline to release snakes. Non-venomous snakes are released in areas away from residential areas by volunteers who will record it in the app, while the poisonous snakes are handed over to the rapid response teams to be released in the forest. The relocated ones will establish themself in the new surroundings. The snakes by nature are designed to survive from the time of birth.” Often faced with antagonism from the people, the forest dept feels it may be inappropriate to talk about the ecological imbalance caused by removing snakes from localities.
