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Vikram Jit Singh Chandigarh: Serpents usually want to lurk below the human radar. When they’re noticed, the innate concern and revulsion they evoke ends in folks both exhibiting a clear pair of heels or bashing it to loss of life. The id of the snake is misplaced within the hype and frenzy. The rescue of a Common Trinket snake (Coelognathus helena helena) from Bitna highway, Pinjore, by the Tricity’s veteran snake catcher, Salim Khan, has raised a perplexing query because it constitutes one of many very, only a few data of the species not simply from the Tricity however from Punjab and Haryana.Is it that the Common Trinket snake (CTS) is a rarity right here or is it that the species — although might effectively have been seen by widespread folks — has simply not been reported precisely to the scientific world? The zoological nomenclature, Coelognathus helena helena, of this stunning, non-venomous snake takes after Helen of Troy and her legendary attraction, although it’s uncertain whether or not the attention of a rat being squeezed to loss of life in her stunning coils would share an identical view of the aesthetic analogy! The CTS hunts down its prey not by biting it and injecting venom like a cobra or viper however by constricting it like a python. Due to its choice for gobbling rodents, the CTS retains an excellent test on their numbers.Having carried out a assessment of historic literature referring to distribution data and geographical vary of the Common Trinket snake (CTS), Mohali-based naturalist, Prof Gurpartap Singh, informed TOI: “Till about a century ago, the CTS was considered a species found in South India. However, later sources mention it to be found throughout India. Though some specific records are available from Himachal Pradesh, there don’t seem to be any records from Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana. However, this is most likely because of lack of reporting rather than absence of the species from these areas. The reason is that common people are not adept at identifying snakes and are generally afraid of snakes. So, even if some people may have seen this species, they will not know what it could be.”Unlike recognizing fowl species, butterflies or massive mammals new to a area, discovering novel snake species is a restricted pursuit. Some snakes are nocturnal and dwell in most troublesome spots comparable to below rocks or in termite mounds. So, snake species might be current in areas however completely escape scientific discover. However, the present development of rescuing snakes from properties and villages and so on has bolstered the scientific effort to determine correct distribution lists of the serpent species.Vivek Sharma, who has carried out in depth subject work on snakes, informed TOI: “The specimen found by Khan is of the Himalayan foothill population of the CTS, which looks different from the Central and Southern Indian forms as it has clearer bands. These terms —whether a species is a rarity or common — are subjective and hold no long-term importance. Once upon a time, the Egg-eater snake was termed extremely rare — now it is seen everywhere in the country. The same goes for the Bridal snake and many other snake species. Wherever you start rescues and document them, the species status changes from non-existent to rare and then to common.”However, the jury continues to be out on whether or not the CTS is definitely a rarity for Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana or is it simply one other one of many much less reported snake species. The passage of time will present the right verdict on its standing right here. According to Khan, who has been rescuing snakes for many years, Pinjore space is especially fruitful because it has yielded uncommonly reported species. “I rescued this CTS from under a pile of ‘malba’ in a new housing colony. Water flows from the hills down to Pinjore where there is extensive human habitation. Snakes flushed down with the water land up near humans, are spotted and rescued. Such unknown snakes then come to light,” Khan informed TOI. The CTS is a really adaptive species present in forests in addition to in and round human habitation due to its choice for gobbling rodents. It is a species identified to get aggressive in a defensive posture by coiling the entrance half of its physique in an elaborate S-shape and putting repeatedly with its non-venomous fangs. Photographers love this S-pose although the CTS could also be harbouring completely completely different ideas in her thoughts!
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