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Cobra bites this man 11 times, yet he rescues them!

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Bengaluru: The coastal belt of the state is popularly known as the land of Snakes. Nearly 30 species of snakes are found across the state and the work of rescuing snakes provides employment to around 500 people.

Gururaj Sanil is one among them. He has been in this profession for 27 years. His catches include 54 king cobras, 3,000 Pythons and 12,000 snakes of various species. This year alone, he has caught around 60 pythons and four King Cobras, one of which was a 14-foot long female Cobra.

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“I have been bitten 12 times in my life by a snake, 10 times by a Common Cobra, once by a Common Krait and once by a King Cobra to my left hand’s index finger,” Sanil says proudly.

After his long experience as a snake catcher, Sanil has now become a writer for many Kannada dailies; currently he is working on a book on snakes, which will focus on the several beliefs that are associated with the snakes.

Sanil spoke at length to Newskarnataka.com on the various aspects of these silent reptiles including why we should not fear them and how to deal with snake bites.

Which are the most common snakes found in Karnataka?

“The Common Cobra, Russell’s viper, Indian Common Krait, saw-scaled viper are some of India’s most poisonous snakes found in Karnataka, while the  Indian rat snake, water snake, striped keelback snake, trinket snake, common wolf snake, pythons are non-venomous snakes that are also found commonly in the state.”

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Why are people scared of Python if it’s a non-venomous?

Sanil says, “There is a false belief among people that the python seeks humans too, for its prey, along with animals. However, so far in India no such evidence has been recorded. Yes, the African rock python, which is found in the African continent, has been known to eat humans.”

“The Python is a mild snake and only bites if it is hurt or tortured, else it tends to bite if it is disturbed or fearful of its surroundings,” he added.

But he added, “Treatment for a Python bite would require three injections, one of which is a compulsory anti-tetanus shot.”

A snake’s state of mind!

“According to my experience, I can say that snakes have a sharp ability to comprehend the good and bad thoughts of a person,” Sanil asserts.
 
Secondly, when a snake enters a house, it is very alert and it tends to move into the corners of a house rather than stay in the limelight, he adds.

Snakes eat their own eggs!

Nature has apparently not provided snakes with the gift of motherly love as, according to Sanil, they tend to control their own population in a particular area by eating their own eggs.

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Superstitious beliefs:

Sanil feels that most of the beliefs related to snakes are false and have no relevance in reality. Beliefs such as naag-mani (Cobra pearl), ichadhari naag-nagin (divine male-female Cobras), ‘are simply superstitious’.

“For instance, in our state, people have a belief that if a cobra comes to your house again and again, then you have a ‘sarp dosh’ which is also absolutely a ‘bogus belief,” he lamented.

It is also a false belief that a snake takes revenge on its killer, as the brain of a snake is not developed enough to sustain those intense memories or emotions, he averred.

Why do snakes enter a house?

Sanil answered calmly, “A snake or a cobra enters house only in search of food. Basically, its food is rats, kittens, puppies and other small animals. Second, day-by-day we are moving towards deforestation, which causes such reptiles to move from their natural habitat into our homes.”

“Third, due to its sharp sense, just like dogs, snakes too can easily understand the vibration of love and anger from a person. So, if a snake or a Cobra enters your house, try not panic, act normally, and immediately call a snake rescuer or a forest department official, so long as it has not harmed anyone,” he added.

Fact: Snakes are cold-blooded creatures, do not like the cold and cannot control their own body temperature. Also read: Snakes…myths and facts

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How to treat oneself after a snake’s bite?

Fact: 70 percent of snakes bite on below the waist and on foot, while 30 percent snakes bite above the waist. Snakes do not inject all its venom to any one prey; they preserve venom and can bite four to five of their enemies.

Many people do not comprehend, as to which snake has bitten them, all they know is, it’s a snake.

It is in this context that, Sanil shared a valuable healing method with newskarnataka.com’s readers. He says that, without wasting a moment, people should adopt this general treatment methodology for both types of bite – venomous as well as non-venomous.

“Immediately, a medium tight bandage should be wrapped on the part before the bite area. For eg. if a snake bites on a back of a hand, then one must tie a bandage from the wrist area up to the end of the arm, but must take care that bandage should be medium tight only,” he suggested.

This bandage, he said, could be made out of any commonly used cloth piece, such as a stole, lungi, or any other two to three meters of cloth.

Why wrap a bandage?

Sanil says, a bandage will help to slowdown the flow of venom-infected blood towards the other parts of the body, especially the heart, and restrict it as far as possible to the infected area only.

While this is a temporary remedy of slowing down poisonous blood for a short time, it is necessary for the snake bite victim to visit an allopathic doctor at the earliest and take an anti venom injection, especially if the snake is venomous.

Why should it be medium tight only?

Sanil explained, “Pure blood is very necessary for a wound for healing. A tight bandage will prevent passing of pure blood towards an infected area of the body and can cause gangrene to form.”

Availability of anti-snake venom:

Sanil says that the general anti-snake venom is easily available, but there is no cure in India for the bite of a king cobra, as there are very few cases.

Allopathic treatment is, however, considered best for a snake bite.

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(Sanil rescues King Cobra)

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(Rescued Python snake)

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(Forest department accompanied him)

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(A Python rescued)

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