Somewhere inside a Madhya Pradesh forest, a snake slips across a patrol road in the darkness. A forest guard stops, photographs it, records the location and sends the GPS-tagged image for identification. Elsewhere, researchers drive slowly through a forest road after sunset, scanning the ground and undergrowth for movement. In another part of the state, preparations are being made for the next stage attaching radio transmitters to selected snakes to find out where they go after disappearing into the forest.
Except, scientifically, it is not really a census. Instead of attempting the nearly impossible task of counting every snake in the state, Madhya Pradesh has begun what is being described as India’s first extensive snake-specific scientific exercise to study their diversity, distribution, relative abundance and ecology. The project is being conducted by researchers from the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, along with the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department across five protected forest landscapes. The Wildlife Institute of India, or WII, is not attempting to produce a dramatic statewide number of snakes. Instead, its researchers are trying to answer more useful questions like which species occur where, which landscapes support greater snake diversity, where medically important venomous snakes are relatively more abundant, how far they move and which areas may be suitable for the release of rescued snakes. Behind what may sound like an unusual forest experiment lies a serious public-health story. The Madhya Pradesh Forest Department’s enormous patrol network has effectively become part of the research system. When forest personnel encounter a snake during routine patrolling, they photograph it and record its location. GPS-tagged photographs are then shared with researchers, who identify the species and add the sighting to a growing distribution database.
Madhya Pradesh has around 50 recorded snake species, according to Ujjain-based Sarp Anusandhan Sangthan.
This is Madhya Pradesh’s much talked-about “snake census”. Nine of them are venomous, including the medically important “Big Four” — the Indian cobra, common krait, Russell’s viper and saw-scaled viper.
Small transmitters can allow scientists to follow individual snakes and study how far they travel, the size of their home ranges, the habitats they prefer and what happens after they are captured and released elsewhere. At present, rescued snakes are often taken away from houses or settlements and released in forests without enough knowledge about whether that habitat is appropriate for that particular species. The WII study could identify areas where specific snakes naturally occur in greater abundance, allowing rescued animals to be released in scientifically suitable habitats instead of arbitrary locations.
The next phase could provide an even closer look at how venomous snakes actually live. Researchers are expected to use radio telemetry on selected snakes, particularly medically important species. This could have a direct impact on snake-rescue practices.
