Bravest Snake Catcher Ever!!!

[brihacharan]

Hi Guys,
> A friend of mine sent me these awesome pictures which I'm sharing with you all
> Mathra is a village in Kollam district in the Indian state of Kerala, located near the town of Punalur. It is the headquarters of > Mathra Grama Panchayat, a fertile area in which many residents are engaged in farming. It is a picturesque village surrounded by hills & forests which is the habitat of a variety of snakes.
> Mathra has a very high population of Saiva Vellala community some of whom are adept in catching snakes. Mathra is a big village constituting many temples, including Mathra Ayiravalli Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and his consort Paravathi.
Suresh Suryasree a resident of Mathra pictured below is an expert snake catcher.






Briha

[Mark]

Wow those are some big snakes!

[Vikram]

That man has the proverbial things of tungsten.

King Cobras, spectacular as they are, give me the shivers. And I saw the photos of the damn things in the trees. Things could kill an elephant it seems.

[brihacharan]

That man has the proverbial things of tungsten.
King Cobras, spectacular as they are, give me the shivers. And I saw the photos of the damn things in the trees. Things could kill an elephant it seems.

> When I saw the pictures I too got the shivers!!!
> King cobras can reach 18 feet in length, making them the longest of all venomous snakes. When confronted, they can raise up to one-third of their bodies straight off the ground and still move forward to attack.
> They will also flare out their iconic hoods and emit a bone-chilling hiss that sounds almost like a growling dog.
> Their venom is not the most potent among venomous snakes, but the amount of neurotoxin they can deliver in a single bite—up to two-tenths of a fluid ounce (seven cc)—is enough to kill 20 people, or even an elephant.
> Fortunately, king cobras are shy and will avoid humans whenever possible, but they are fiercely aggressive when cornered!
Briha

[pradeep.kumar]

Very interesting pictures and information Brihaji as you always provide!! What a size the K.Cobra is... while its held high.. Wow!!
I know they grow big but never knew they can grow to 18 feet!!

And this snake catcher Suresh Suryasree, I would rather say handler -for the way he handles them with care and skill- is great guy too!!

Curious questions lingering in my mind for some time now which got rekindled after seeing this post :
I am sure the K.cobra he is kissing on the hood is not a tamed one.
Any idea, while some one is so close and feeling the touch, why cant the snake turn and strike??
Physiological: Is it due to the position the K.cobra is being held where it can't turn its hood and give a strike which needs space and muscular movements which provides enough force?
Psychological: Is the K.cobra in a trance or that it got used to this guy's handling and it doesn't feel threatened/irritated by him?

[prashantsingh]

Physiological: Is it due to the position the K.cobra is being held where it can't turn its hood and give
Psychological: Is the K.cobra in a trance or that it got used to this guy's handling and it doesn't feel threatened/irritated by him?[/quote]

That's the blind area. Just like we can't see what's exactly behind us. The cobra can't see either . Never the less he is a brave man. Amazing snaps Briha sir.
I would personally never want to come infront of one of those.
The Northern most range of the King cobra is Rajaji national park. There is a documented case where a king cobra charged after a man. The attack was unprovoked. It was peak summer and it was not guarding a nest. Fortunately the man was carried an umbrella to protect himself from the sun. He threw the umbrella and ran. When he turned around after some time he saw the cobra lashing away at the open black umbrella. Fortunately ge was saved.

[sa_ali]

wooooowww this is the biggest that i have ever seen, amazing

[brihacharan]

Hi pradeep.kumar / prashant,

> The questions you have posed are very valid & pertinent!
> IMHO only a "Herpetologist" can provide the answers....
> I had attended a talk given by the famous Indian Herpetologist "Romulus Whittekar" at the Guindy Snake Park - Chennai a long time ago...but I don't recollect any of your questions were covered then....
> However you have kindled my curiosity....time permitting I'll call at the Bombay Natural History Society of which I was a member & get the resident Herpetologist to answer these queries.....
Briha

[nevil]

Amazing pictures of a very brave man sir

[brihacharan]

Hi Guys,
> This may be of interest to you all....

Romulus Whitaker is American by birth and Indian at heart, Romulus Earl Whitaker is an inspirational figure who has made an invaluable contribution to wildlife research and nature conservation in India. He arrived as a young boy and did much of his schooling in Kodaikanal where he developed an affinity for the natural world by trekking through the forests of the Palni Hills.

He moved back to the U.S. to complete his higher education and after a short stint with the U.S. Merchant Navy, joined the Miami Serpentarium where he learned about venom collection.

He returned to India to fulfill his destiny as a world-class herpetologist, founding the Snake Park in Guindy in Tamil Nadu and then the very popular Madras Crocodile Bank/Centre for Herpetology in Mahabalipuram, where crocodiles are bred in captivity with the objective of releasing them into the wild. He was then enlisted by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization as a wildlife consultant and travelled to Papua New Guinea, Mozambique, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Indonesia.

Vice-chairman of the Crocodile Specialist Group IUCN/Species Survival Commission for several years, Whitaker is currently spearheading a campaign to bring the Gharial back from the brink of extinction. He has written scores of technical papers and a number of books including the 'Snakes of India'. He has also directed and produced wildlife documentaries including the Emmy-award winner ‘The King Cobra’. Whitaker helped transform snake-hunting Irula tribals into snake-protectors and introduced them to a dignified livelihood through a cooperative set up to extract snake venom.

He is in the process of establishing a research station in the rainforests of Agumbe (Karnataka - India) for the king cobra.
His work has attracted several awards – he won a Rolex award, received the Order of the Golden Ark, the Whitley Award and now the 2006 Sanctuary-RBS Lifetime Service Award. Whitaker wears many hats – wildlife researcher, filmmaker, author and conservationist. In his words, “I am happiest out in the wild just watching turtles, snakes, crocs and other herps.”

Briha

[nevil]

Sir your wide knowledge on various subjects amazes me it would really be an honour to meet you.
Regards
Nevil

[ckkalyan]

Wow! Those are some truly stupendous images of Suresh, coolly handling and kissing a giant King Cobra!

Thanks for sharing brihacharan-Ji

[essdee1972]

I almost wet my pants just seeing the pics! Just imagine the guts of Suresh!!

Brihaji, reminded me of the time (Summer of '99), when I attended the snake show at Chennai Snake park. The show took place in a round cage about 15 m (?) in diameter. In the centre was a huge mound literally crawling with cobras, and honeycombed with their holes. Two guys go in, wearing high boots and gloves, and with the looped sticks used for catching snakes. During the show, one of the guys picked up a writhing mass of snakes with his stick, about 3 feet in diameter. A. living. ball. of. snakes.. All of them writhing here and there, dropping off the ball. Have you ever seen a badly tangled ball of wool? Now imagine a similar ball, about 3 feet in diameter, composed of about 20-30 (or whatever - I couldn't make out the number!) of some of the most most venomous snakes on earth........ Snakes dropping off every now and then, and then this guy dips his hand into that mass and pulls out the big daddy of them all - about 10-12 feet long. Lets the ball drop, where it promptly dissolves into individual snakes crawling off at high speed. And then the big snake and the guy literally play like a puppy with its master!

Although they had 2 hefty guys to enforce a "no photography" rule, in my case, they were not needed - I totally forgot I had a camera in my pocket (this was before the days of cellphones).

Unfortunately Dr. Whitaker was not in the country, so instead of the personal lecture, we had to contend with a video. (it seems that since the tour group consisted of a number of school kids, Dr. Whitaker would make it a point to talk to kids however busy he might be!).

[pradeep.kumar]

Hi pradeep.kumar / prashant,

> The questions you have posed are very valid & pertinent!
> IMHO only a "Herpetologist" can provide the answers....
> I had attended a talk given by the famous Indian Herpetologist "Romulus Whittekar" at the Guindy Snake Park - Chennai a long time ago...but I don't recollect any of your questions were covered then....
> However you have kindled my curiosity....time permitting I'll call at the Bombay Natural History Society of which I was a member & get the resident Herpetologist to answer these queries.....
Briha

Brihaji,
Interesting to know I am not alone in the "curiosity being kindled" list
Having been part of BNHS, you have a duty to do.. just joking Brhaji . Please do at your own convenience!!

I have always been in awe of Chennai Snake Park (Guindy Snake Park- old name) and Madras Crocodile Bank Trust, every time I visited during my multiple visits, unknown to me then, was the founder of these parks. Later when I started hitting the name repeatedly, while watching his documentary programs in wildlife TV Channels, I wanted to know, who is this "Romulus Whitaker"? And found his works in various ares as a wildlife conservationist. Very inserting personality he is, to me. Hats off to him again!!
May be he would have answered questions, similar to mine, to many of the researchers and trainees, to whom he imparted his knowledge!!

[Sakobav]

This is amazing just like these maidens in Burma who do something similar