Snakes on my mind

My in-laws had an unwelcome visitor this week, in the form of a huge snake, coiled up on the cool bathroom floor! It slithered past the housekeeper as she went to clean up, she let out a shriek loud enough to summon the whole neighbourhood, and fled from there, slamming the bathroom shut behind her!

My mother-in-law, with remarkable alacrity rang up Just Dial (an information service - +91-44-2644 4444), got the number of the Guindy Snake Park from them, called the ranger there, (+(91)-(44)-22200335,22301328) who promised to send a snake catcher. Within half an hour, the catcher arrived, and from all accounts knew his snake-catching! He calmly proceeded to the bathroom, by which time the snake had disappeared under the wash basin drainhole, and was nowhere to be seen. He checked regarding the drain plan, asked for hot water to be poured down the drain, and then waited at the other end, in the garden.

Sure enough, in a minute the snake emerged, and was skillfully caught by the trapper. My in-laws commented that he kind of stroked the snake to calm it, and then put it into a bag, to be added to the collection at the Snake Park! He told them that it was a venomous snake, but we dont know the variety - it was not a cobra. It couldn't be the Krait, since the markings are so distinct, could it be a viper then?

After this incident, I realised that I knew so little about snakes - which ones are venomous, and which ones are not. Yes, I've been to the Snake Park and yes I possess Whitaker's book, and yes I've studied those glass cages and looked with somewhat horrified fascinaton at those slithery reptiles, but it somehow does not stick in the head. I dont find them as attractive as, say birds, nor are they as "handsone" as a tiger, as graceful as deer.

I think there are snake people and there are the others, and I dont know if it has to do with any exposure or awareness. My mother is positively fascinated by them, so is a cousin of mine who now lives in Atlanta, then there is a classmate of my husband who regularly caught them. I am not a snake person, and I have to make a conscious, rational effort to overcome the rising, irrational fear of them.

Of snakes and Scruggs, in Atlanta, Georgia

We saw this snake sunning itself in the undergrowth in one of those large parks near the Fernbank Museum. What was it - Midland brown? Earth snake?


Another day we stopped by at the Chattahoochee river that flows through Atlanta, and saw these ducks swim by,


before chancing upon a Steve Scruggs show. Steve Scruggs seems to be the American equivalent of our very own Rom Whitakers spreading awareness about snakes.

Quite the showman, check out these two little video clips of what we saw.

This one is to do with a common Georgian, non-poisonous snake.



And this one shows a rattlesnake.



Stone Mountain

Atlanta memories also include our trip to Stone Mountain, though totally unrelated to snakes, bear with me while I ramble!  After all this is Madras Ramblings remember.

Stone Mountain is very unimaginatively named.  It is, well a stone mountain you see.  I guess if we can have yezhu malai and anai malai, they can have Stone Mountain!  if I'm not mistaken its the world's largest exposed granite rock.  (Ayers rock in Australia is sandstone.)  

Can you imagine what a sense of regret our granite quarry owners must feel seeing this - so much untapped money!

We took the cable ride up, but you can walk up as well.  The views all around are lovely.  About 3,000 acres around the rock is like a nature park, so its lovely and wooded.  there are lots of touristy and kid-friendly activities all over the base park area, but you dont need to do those things.

A walk up, enjoying the views, some birdwatching, and its a lovely day out in the open.

If you are lucky, you may come across these stoneworts, which grow in the little pools of water that collect in depressions and crevices on the mountain top.

Bugs on my mind

I came across an article in The Economist on Bugs as a great source of protein.  

The article reports that insects, are the best converters of feed into protein

So, are you facing inflation and food shortages? Well, eat those bugs! They already do in 113 countries. Insect farming is also on the agenda.

Can you imagine the change in the menus - Cricket 65, Roach Manchurian, Tandoori Ants...? Sorry, it doesn't sound appetising does it?

Just when I was "digesting" that piece of news, came further news putting insects in the spotlight. An Insect heist was reported! A Czech scientist (entomologist to be precise) was arrested for happily collecting beetles and bugs without permission, and as far as I can make out, is still languishing with his associate in a jail in Darjeeling. To add to his woes, Darjeeling has been shut down in the Gorkha agitation, and so there are no courts working to even grant him bail.

I really wonder what Dr Petr Svacha was doing? Do you think he would've gone around collecting insects in a wildlife park, without permission, in any other country? He cannot, not know the rules, can he? I mean, its not like a tourist going and seeing a fascinating shell or bug or butterfly and taking it home is it? Or is it that he was taken for a ride by the famous Indian bureaucracy? All very mysterious, if you ask me.

And his associate Kucera seems to have a website where insects are for sale! According to The Himalaya Beacon, he was not here officially.

Jan Šula is the head of the Entomology Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences in České Budějovice, Petr Švácha’s employer:
“Petr Švácha is a world-recognised specialist on sawyer beetle larvae and I think that explains what he was doing there. He does everything for science, even investing his own time and money. I think intentional wrong-doing is out of the question. Of course, if they had been there officially this kind of thing could never have happened. On official trips you have cooperation from local specialists and so on. If they had been there officially this could never have happened.”

Hmmm...

A flycatcher and a Colonel

(Photo credit: Mr P Ramanan)
I saw this lovely little bird on my recent trip to Melghat and Chikaldhara. The MTDC Chikaldhara resort did have many feathered visitors, and all we had to do was sit around with our binoculars, and sure enough you would see a daily parade.

One afternoon, Mr Ramanan wandered in excitedly with his camera, and showed us this amazing capture - a Tickell's Blue Flycatcher. Though we all rushed out to try and see it, it had whizzed away by then.

I remember idly flicking through Grimmett and Inskipp's book on birds of South India, and wondering whether I would see any of the lovely, colourful flycatchers on Pg 180! And I was in luck! He showed up again the next day, and I was ready and waiting. Under the fig tree this time. Something blue whirred past my ear, and darted from branch to branch seemingly snapping things out of the air. When it settled for a rest, it was the same Tickell's Blue!

He kept me fascinated and enthralled for a while, as he showed off his flying skills, trilling excitedly (or so it seemed to me anyway!) These flycatchers eat, well flies, and so do need to do these fighter-plane type dives!


Feeling rather pleased with my "sighting" I went off and announced to all the others, rather grandly, then read up about it, and wondered aloud who this Tickell was, who seems to have a lot of birds named after him.

Then, the next day, this little fellow was down by the leaky pipe - remember the one I wrote about here and I took this picture on the left. He is quite small isnt he? Then, of course everybody got a view, and so now all the Melghat gang have seen this bird!

On our return, I did a desultory search for "Tickell", and guess what, he showed up rather quickly, on Wikipedia at that! (What would we do without that marvellous tool?!)  There's even a picture of him there.  This Colonel of the British army seems to have been one active birder, and there's this little blue marvel, plus a flowerpecker and a leaf warbler and a thrush named after him.  

My salaams to Colonel Tickell