WORLD OF SCIENCE
Creepy crawlies
DR. T. V. PADMA
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Snakes seem to be the most misunderstood creatures ever…
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A Tamil proverb states that the very mention ofthe word “snake” would make an army of soldiers shiver with fright! This unwarranted fear of snakes is in part responsible for the senseless destruction of these interesting animals. The other reason for their destruction is the thriving trade in snake skins. Snakes are reptiles. Only about 25 per cent of snakes are poisonous. Even among the poisonous snakes about half of the 25 per cent are not capable of killing their victims by their poison.
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In actual fact snakes are the farmer’s best friends. Dr.Salim Ali estimated that rodents are responsible for the destruction of 20-50 per cent of India’s grain crops. Snakes can get into rat holes and kill them. A single snake can kill hundreds of rat and mice in a single year.
The Irulas who live in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh catch snakes. Irulas are not snake charmers — they are snake catchers, who are expert naturalists. Irula tribals give children non-poisonous snakes to play with so that they will have no fear of it. Irulas are excellent trackers of snakes and can identify species from the tracks. They also have a world of knowledge regarding these animals.
Snakes are found almost everywhere in the world except for extremely cold climates such as the Antartic and the tops of high mountains.
There is a great variety of snakes. Some are small enough to be held in the palm and some are big and large like the Anaconda which can grow to be 18 feet long and three feet around. Some snakes hunt by day and some by night.
The Madras Snake Park was started in 1969 due to the efforts of Romulus Whittaker. He has done a great service by studying snakes and by enabling the public to view them and know more about them.
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