Expect slithery visitors during summer: Snake catchers

Saravanan, a volunteer with the Isha Yoga Centre in Madurai, received a call on Tuesday from the Fire and Rescue Department, about a rat snake that entered a house in Valar Nagar. Saravanan, who runs an electronics service shop, rushed to the spot and in a matter of seconds, rescued the snake.

Though rescue personnel reached the house an hour before Saravanan, they were hesitant in catching the snake. However, Saravanan caught it with his bare hands. After his successful ‘mission’, neighbours rushed to meet Saravanan and get his mobile number to contact him if any future need arises.

Following this, he shared his experience about catching snakes and the varieties of snakes in the Madurai area. Saravanan said snakes generally fear a lot on seeing humans and so tend to attack in fear. So, the first job of a catcher is to pacify the reptile and to make it comfortable.

Once the snake calms down, it will behave and will not attack humans. After he became a volunteer in the Isha Yoga Centre, he caught snakes for five years and during that time no poisonous snake bit him, though on a couple of occasions rat snakes had bit him. But are not poisonous, said Saravanan. 

He also said that if forests are nurtured, snakes will stay confined there, but since they do not get sufficient water and food they enter residential areas. In the summer, people may encounter snakes more often as they would enter houses for water and would stay in much cooler places, said Saravanan.

He said the cobra, common krait, Russel’s viper and scaled vipers are common in Madurai and on an average, they get 25 calls per week to trap snakes. Also, snakes are found mostly in Viraganur near the city, said Saravanan. 

There are eight volunteers for catching snakes in the Isha Yoga Centre here and they trap snakes for free.