Dear Creepy Subscriber
I recently designed some snake handling equipment for Resort Ramada. The equipment consists of a snake hook for lifting and maneuvering snakes, and a snake-bag for capturing snakes. The equipment can be used to capture snakes ranging from 6 inch saw scaled vipers to 12 foot King Cobras! The best part is that with it one completely avoids having to physically touch the snake while capturing it.
I've also been thinking that Anti Snake Venin (ASV) would make a great addition to the snake handling equipment in case of snake related emergencies.
I myself stock five vials. They have an expiry date of five years and I’ve just finished disposing off my second batch (thankfully that’s over ten years of no venomous snake bites!).
Anti Snake Venin may not exactly be a must-have. I’ve already mentioned earlier that all Primary Health Centres and big hospitals in Goa stock ASV in any case you need a doctor to administer. (For more information on snake bites, check creepy issues 7, 8, and 10.)
As a snake handler I however like to be doubly cautious. I wouldn’t want to end up at a hospital, have the doctor confirm a venomous bite and then muse, ‘Now, let me see, do we have ASV…nope sorry…try the next hospital, kid.’
ASV also can be used in case of pet animals being bitten. If you’ve ever had a dog bitten by a venomous snake you’ve probably realized that they die very quickly; usually in less than ten minutes, which is too little time to find a vet.
In this case ASV can be administered intravenously or, if not possible, then intra-muscularly. My mother saved her Alsation on our farm in Valpoi from a venomous snake bite by simply injecting ASV into the dog’s thigh muscle. The dog, which had been lying on its side foaming at the mouth, recovered almost instantly.
My Contact Information:
Rahul Alvares, Almeida Vaddo, Parra, Bardez, Goa - 403510
Email: [email protected] [email protected] / [email protected]
Phone: Res: 91-832-2278740
Mob: 9326115883 (rarely used)
Also, visit my Website: www.geocities.com/rahulsnakesite
Supermodel Yesu Shiva Vasco Gavas at the launch of the Rain-Fall collection of snake handling merchandise.
Notice the snake hook and the snake bag are both approximately the same height as model Vasco Gavas (at 4 feet 9 inches, Vasco is almost five feet – and that is very tall among the hobbits). This particular length was custom-made and drawn to specifications from the same blueprint which was used to build Robin Hood’s bow.
Two pieces of equipment would naturally require two persons for handling; while one person guides the snake with the snake hook, the other holds the snake bag motionless in front of the snake. The snake on noticing the dark hole normally dives straight into the open mouth of the bag. The bag is lifted and with one smooth motion twisted to shut the neck and secure the snake inside. The bag can then be taken to a forested area and the snake released by tipping it out.
Butterfly bags are normally circular. I made my snake bag square shape which has the added advantage of being able to wedge the mouth of the bag into any corner without leaving any gaps that a circular mouth might do.
If you are interested in the equipment do let me know and I can either make some for you, or guide you to make your own. The cost for making the equipment below worked out to approximately Rs.700.
Masks might also be used while handling snakes. Scary Halloween costumes work fine so long as you can still breathe normally under them.
In this case the editor was severely asphyxiated by the fumes of sweat and uneaten victuals left behind by the young lad from whom this mask was borrowed.
Book Review;
THE SUNDERBANS
Biswajit Roy Chowdhury
Pradeep vyas
A pictorial field guide
Pages; 120
Price; Rs 198
This is a new arrival at the Other India Bookstore. The written content of the book is very basic yet very comprehensive. It includes every thing that you need to know about the Sunderbans; information on the flora and fauna, how to get there, addresses and contact numbers, tour plans, other places of interest, other sanctuaries to visit, etc. The book is filled with amazing photographs of birds, reptiles, mammals, crabs, fishes, and other animals and plants (though I picked out a couple of mistakes in the names identifying some of the reptiles!).
It is an absolutely great present if you’ve been thinking of a gift for a nature lover.
the book is available with me and the OIB.
Sainath Shirodkar
Have you ever been frightened or bothered by any of these animals – Leopards, crocodiles, snakes, monitor lizards, Gaur, deer, porcupines, jackals, monkeys, civet cats
Giant Squirrels, birds or any other wild animals– and not known what to do or whom to contact?
Next time dial Sainath Shirodkar’s number for quick relief! Sainath is a full time wild animal rescuer working with the Forest Department in Campal.
Sainath began his career working as a snake handler at the Forest Department in 2000. But with no one else to rescue other wildlife in Goa he automatically got transferred to the post of rescuing all other wild animals as well.
Averaging six snakes a day Sainath’s had caught over three thousand snakes since he began working there.
Sainath’s snake handling study was fostered by his grandfather who he remembers as a local medicine man. As a child Sainath made many field trips into the forests with this grandfather to collect medicinal roots and herbs which his grandfather used to cure snake-bite. From keen observation and experimentation Sainath soon mastered the art of handling even the venomous snakes like the cobras, vipers and kraits.
His animal rescue experiences are bizarre. I am just listing a few below to give you an idea of the type of work he is involved in
Once he was called to rescue a Rhesus Macaque in Ponda that had become quite aggressive attacking people. When Sainath and a group of villagers – numbering 200 – approached the monkey, the monkey charged towards Sainath and bit a chunk of flesh off his left palm. Sainath grabbed the monkey behind the neck with his other hand and pressed it to the ground while it continued to scratch and claw at him. When he turned to look back, all the 200 strong villagers had scattered. Sainath shouted for his rope to be thrown but no one was brave enough to help him. The bitten hand had produced a pool of blood on the ground. When he got to the hospital he was already suffering low blood pressure. The wound required eight stitches.
Another time he was called to rescue a Langur in Pednem that used to jump onto the backs of motorcyclists plying the highway. When Sainath approached the Langur, the big monkey charged him and bit his knee cap off!
A crocodile broke the other knee with a slap from its tail some months later!
A porcupine fallen into a pit drove eight quills into Sainath’s shins while he tried to rescue it. The quills drove so deep into his leg tissue he had to pull them out with a set of pliers! Sainath kept the eight quills at home for a year before throwing them in the trash.
‘In the end it became too painful even to look at them’ he laughs.
Fortunately he never got attacked by any of the four leopards that he has trapped – though very often he would spend the night sleeping in the open, only a few hundred meters from the trap.
And now it is not just he who rescues wild animals in his house. Newly married, Sainath attends rescue calls with Priya his wife pillion riding on their motorcycle. Coming back from a rescue trip Sainath may very well be balancing a python wriggling in a gunny sack atop the bike tank while Priya delicately holds a meter long crocodile behind, wrapped like a baby in between them!
Get the buzz on Sainath at: 9422062880
2265772