Kerala   

Snakes, scorpions await flood evacuees on their return

Abdul Latheef Naha

Common phenomenon during floods in the district

MALAPPURAM: Hundreds of families whose homes have been inundated by the swollen Kadalundipuzha, Chaliyar and Bharatapuzha have a new fear: poisonous reptiles and insects washed off from the Western Ghats in the floodwaters.

Along with the floods come a large number of snakes, scorpions and spiders to the rivers that flow across the breadth of the district. The creatures enter the flooded homes and buildings and find safety in shelves and racks.

People say snakes and scorpions are a common phenomenon during the floods in the district. Hundreds of snakes thus washed away from forests were killed by the local people. Many of them were poisonous.

Snakes were found perched on treetops and buildings. Manoharan Kuruppath, an autorickshaw driver at Chemmankadavu, one of the worst-hit areas along the banks of the Kadalundipuzha, near Malappuram town, said he and his friends killed eight snakes since Tuesday. He said children in that area must have killed more than 300 Indian caecilians washed off from the Western Ghats. Popularly called uraeotyphlus, those blind snakes have widely been believed to be poisonous. But it is not, according to experts. M. Nasar, lecturer at Calicut University Zoology Department, said that uraeotyphlus (kurudi in Malayalam) was harmless. Burrowers who lay eggs with free-living larvae, the blind snakes are unique to the Western Ghats.

Dr. Nasar, however, said that snakes left in homes by the floodwaters would not usually harm people. “This strange behaviour may be a result of the change in habitat,” he said. He said snakes in alien habitat were usually found behaving differently than in their natural habitat. “But this needs further studies to confirm,” he said. However, there were a few occasional cases of snake-biting during the floods in Malappuram. But no casualties were reported.

Venomous scorpions and spiders too were being washed ashore by the floodwaters. The black scorpions found in the forests of Western Ghats are poisonous but not lethal. Cases of scorpion stings causing chronic skin diseases have been reported in Malappuram.

Thousands of snakes and scorpions had been washed ashore dead and alive in the floods that inundated a large part of Malappuram early this month. This time, according to Mr. Manoharan, they were fewer. Among the snakes washed ashore were cobras, crates, vipers and even pythons. “When we get a python, we don’t kill it. We tie it up and release in the woods,” said Mr. Manoharan.

Mr. Manoharan said people preferred to keep away from the floodwaters as they are aware of the danger. He said the floodwaters often carried poisonous ants too. When floodwaters recede, the evacuees will have to first ferret out snakes and other creatures left inside their homes by the floods. “That is the real danger we face,” said P. Sunderarajan, an environmentalist whose house near Munduparambu remained under water on Wednesday afternoon.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

peoplespeak
School notes
Nurtured by nature
Snakes, scorpions await flood evacuees on their return
Youth killed in road accident
Valedictory meet
Endosulfan ‘victim’ dead
Free ration for flood-hit Adivasis
Two drown in Wayanad
To safer places
Companies told to release passports
Two drown in Wayanad
Pre-primary education law soon
Campus Notes
A novel attempt
Today at Sabarimala

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu