Vikram Jit Singh
Chandigarh: Serpents typically prefer to lurk under the human radar. When they are spotted, the innate fear and revulsion they evoke results in people either showing a clean pair of heels or bashing it to death. The identity of the
snake
is lost in the hype and frenzy. The rescue of a
Common Trinket snake
(Coelognathus helena helena) from Bitna road, Pinjore, by the Tricity's veteran snake catcher,
Salim Khan
, has raised a perplexing question as it constitutes one of the very, very few records of the species not just from the Tricity but from Punjab and Haryana.
Is it that the Common Trinket snake (CTS) is a rarity here or is it that the species --- though may well have been seen by common people --- has just not been reported accurately to the scientific world? The zoological nomenclature, Coelognathus helena helena, of this beautiful, non-venomous snake takes after Helen of Troy and her legendary charm, though it is doubtful whether the eye of a
rat
being squeezed to death in her beautiful coils would share a similar view of the aesthetic analogy! The CTS hunts down its prey not by biting it and injecting venom like a cobra or viper but by constricting it like a python. Due to its preference for gobbling rodents, the CTS keeps a very good check on their numbers.
Having carried out a review of historical literature relating to distribution records and geographical range of the Common Trinket snake (CTS), Mohali-based naturalist, Prof Gurpartap Singh, told 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 spotting bird species, butterflies or large mammals new to a region, finding novel snake species is a limited pursuit. Some snakes are nocturnal and dwell in most difficult spots such as under rocks or in termite mounds. So, snake species may well be existing in regions but entirely escape scientific notice. However, the current trend of rescuing snakes from homes and villages etc has bolstered the scientific effort to ascertain accurate distribution lists of the serpent species.
Vivek Sharma, who has carried out extensive field work on snakes, told 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 is still out on whether the CTS is actually a rarity for Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana or is it just another one of the less reported snake species. The passage of time will provide the correct verdict on its status here. According to Khan, who has been rescuing snakes for decades, Pinjore area is particularly fruitful as 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 told TOI.
The CTS is a very adaptive species found in forests as well as in and around human habitation because of its preference for gobbling rodents. It is a species known to get aggressive in a defensive posture by coiling the front half of its body in an elaborate S-shape and striking repeatedly with its non-venomous fangs. Photographers love this S-pose though the CTS may be harbouring entirely different thoughts in her mind!
