Setting wild trends
I was always amazed by reptiles and wildkinds,
always wanted to do something for their welfare and betterment because there
was an idea in my mind that these species were under threat and needed
protection.
I started animal rescue by rescuing strays and
birds with an aim to soon rescue wildlife in distress. I started rescuing snakes
from a very young age after learning how to identify and handle them from A.K
an expert and one of my best mentors not only in wildlife but my personal life
too. I have rescued and released thousands of snakes till date and still doing
that with a bigger team as compared to past. The difference between me and many
was that as soon as I turned adult I approached the forest department and began
to register and notify all the rescued I conducted as all native snakes and
wildlife of the city are protected under the law. One of the best forest
officers I met in my life like Mr. A.V Bombe helped me alot in exploring the
city wildlife and will always be thankful to him for the support, knowledge and
motivation he extended.
My idea behind "resQink" today known as
RAWW (Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare) was to do something for the wildkinds
in and around the city as I always saw that there were people for animals but
very few for wild ones. The best opportunity was by rescuing snakes and other
reptiles and wild birds like owl, kites, parakeets etc in distress some of
which entered the human habitat and some
were resident, as we at Mulund are connected with the national park.
Slowly many of my friends got attracted to me and
started admiring the work I did, this motivated them to participate and
contribute in the cause and many of them are proud members of RAWW today who
are doing some of the best wildlife welfare tasks in the city.
The intention of this writing is to focus on the
snakes of one of the richest city of India, which are misunderstood and ignored
to a great extent.
So to be very basic and simple snakes are divided
into 3 categories which are as follows,
Non-venomous
Semi-venomous
Venomous
and not poisonous (as miss-interpreted by many).
Snakes have always helped humans in maintaining
the environment and surroundings (one of the best example is maintaining the
rat population as maximum snake diet included rats which are one of the
threatening pests to ourkind. They are thus an important cycle of the food
chain and this indicates to us that we should extend protection to them.
Knowing snakes is not much difficult if one is interested, but the real problem
is the human-reptile conflict. Hundreds of individuals are bitten every year by
these reptiles in the city of which (personal experience have found that
maximum snake bites happen because of human errors like attempting to catch,
kill or trap it.
We at RAWW are trying our best to reduce the gap
between man and reptile by spreading and sharing information and awareness
about these reptiles and some of the best ways to avoid a conflict with them.
From children to old aged people in residential or commercial areas (including
education institutions too) we always spread awareness and information about
snakes, their importance and the ethics, rules and protocols that are made for
their protection.
More than 95 percent of the snake species found in
the city and around are non venomous and the rest are semi-venomous and
venomous, If you know the science of identifying them you can easily deal with
them but as it is actually not that easy task is the reason why people fear.
But then again if you learn the art of acceptance and co-existence, nothing
better than that can be done.
Non-venomous
snakes are not harmful as the name suggests, if you are bitten by a non
venomous snake you just need to make it sure that you visit the doctor for a tetanus
injection to avoid bacterial infection.
Some common examples: Rat snake, Checkered
keelback water snake, Boa, Python, Wolf snake, Kukri, Bronzback etc are
commonly found in the city limits.
Semi-venomous snake bite can make the bitten area
itchy or a burning sensation may be felt. It is not serious or fatal if you are
not highly allergic to the mild snake venom, but it has the potential to prove
harmful for children as they have less immunity compared to adults.
Some common examples: Common cat snake, Forston's
cat snake, Vine snake are commonly found within the city limits.
Venomous snakes which are very few, are the actual
ones which are to be taken care of, there are two types of venom we find in the
snakes. Neurotoxic and Haemotoxic are the two kind of venoms found in venomous
snakes. Neurotoxic venom is found in snakes like cobras and kraits which hit
the nervous system of the victim leading to a paralytic attack or a heart
arrest and loss of control over the body. Haemotoxic venom is found in snakes
like the Russell's and Saw scaled vipers which hit the cells of the body
leading to loss of thickness of the blood further leading to bleeding from the
wound and other body pores at times also amputation of fingers or even hands
and legs in the course of treatment due to formation of gangrene.
Some common examples: Cobra, krait and vipers are
commonly found within the city limits.
RAWW has always been helping the victims in
distress other than rescue rehab activities and with the need of the situations
have also made a special team for helping people in dealing with snake bite and
its treatment.
Snakes are wonderful reptiles and will always
attract me in life, I hope that through RAWW I will be able to provide a
platform to many likeminded individuals especially the youth to get into
conservation programs.
The overview of my activities led to a trend
change among my friends and surroundings due to which many individuals started
respecting, accepting, co-existing with snakes and other wildlife too, I just
hope it continues with the blessings of all my loved ones and the most loveable
mother earth till the last man exists!
I hope the idea of wild interviews will be supported by many wildlife enthusiasts who will be frankly speaking with me.
Author : Pawan S. Sharma
Funder & President @ RAWW (Resqink Association
for Wildlife Welfare)
