Villagers turn soft on king cobras in Western Ghats

HASSAN: Continuous efforts by researchers and snake rescuers have finally begun to show results as more and more villagers in Chikkamagaluru, Shivamogga and Udupi districts of Western Ghats have begun to adopt a softer stand towards King Cobras.

 

King Cobra has been the victim of indiscriminate killing by villagers mainly due to superstition. The change in residents’ mindset towards King Cobras has brought a smile among researchers and snake rescuers helpful in conservation of the species. Giving an account of the residents’ attitude towards King Cobras, Jaykumar, who has been rescuing snakes for about 15 years told Deccan Chronicle on Wednesday, “Earlier, residents used to kill King Cobras by firing at them. In some cases, people killed King Cobras upon sighting them in their vicinity if forest officials or rescuers did not arrive on time to get the snake away from their place.” But, thanks to awareness created, Mr Jaykumar says for about six years, the people have assisted in the conservation of the King Cobras. The snake rescuer said that “awareness created by snake rescuers in the region has certainly brought down King Cobra killings in the region and adds that “residents earlier used to ask us to take the King Cobra away from their habitat and release it in the interior part of the forests but now they tolerate King Cobras in the vicinity. If a snake has strayed into a house, they ask us to remove the snake from home and do not mind if they are released in their neighbourhood.”

 

Ajay Giri, Education Officer at Agumbe Rainfall Research Station, said, “We come across many misconceptions regarding King Cobras and we have removed them thereby minimised human-King Cobras conflicts in the region through demonstrations and distribution of pamphlets and posters.”