Activities and Output
2015
Tackling India’s snakebite crisis. “The Conversation” article by Anita Malhotra
2016
2017
Statesman clips re Himachal Pradesh fieldwork:
Snakebite Workshop, 1st-3rd Dec 2017, hosted by Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad
Photos of workshop in progress -
Dr Anita Malhotra receiving the first copies of the conference proceedings from Sri Jogu Ramanna, the Telangana Minister for Forests and Backward Classes Welfare and the Director of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, which hosted the event)
Romulus Whitaker of the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust introducing his short film on snakebite during the opening ceremony
Dr Anita Malhotra introducing the aims of the workshop, with co-organiser Dr Karthikeyan Vasudevan of CCMB
Guillermo Leon, Head of the antivenom production unit at Costa Rica’s Insituto Clodamiro Picado making a point during discussions of the antivenom manufacturing sub-group
Clinicians involved in treating snakebites from India and neighbouring countries discuss the many challenges of treating snakebite
Representatives from the Access Campaign at MSF take part in discussions about the pressing need for epidemiological information at the community level
Scientists involved in basic research on snakes and their venom, a first step in designing an effective strategy for treating snakebite, focussed on the difficulty of obtaining permits for work in India
Representatives from the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust, Gerry Martin project, and Snakebite Health and Education
2018
Fieldwork in Himachal Pradesh
Field surveys were conducted with permission from the state Forest Department, with teams from Bangor University and Simultala conservationists. This year, we were joined by several volunteers organised by Captive and Field Herpetology to support our work. Extremely heavy rainfall this monsoon season caused weather conditions to became steadily more challenging with every passing day. Landslides were frequent and roads were washed away by suddenly developing waterfalls. Due to these natural challenges, our schedule had to be quite flexible, but we managed to visit several locations which proved to be very fruitful.
Habitat of the Central Asian cobra and Russell’s viper
Habitat of the northern white-lipped pitviper, spectacled cobra, and Russell’s viper
Waiting for a landslide to be cleared, a typical monsoon scene on the roads of Himachal Pradesh
Challenging terrain in Chamba district, Himachal Pradesh
Vishal Santra running an awareness session for schoolchildren in Himachal Pradesh
Distributing local-language posters on how to avoid snakebite among schoolchildren in Himachal Pradesh
Participants at a workshop for Forest Department officers in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh
2019
Paper published on the occurrence of the Central Asian cobra Naja oxiana in Himachal Pradesh
Training and awareness workshops conducted in Sikkim and Himachal Pradesh in conjunction with the State Forest Departments:
Staff of the government organisation tasked with handling human-wildlife conflict in India, the Forest Department, often lack knowledge of snakes and rely on licensed snake rescuers. Forest Department range and beat officers are best placed to communicate messages about the importance of snakes, how to prevent snakebites, and what to do in the unfortunate case of snakebite in the communities in which they work, and can also help to decrease human-snake conflict by removing snakes from high-conflict areas such as houses. However, they generally have no knowledge of snakes. Handling of venomous snakes is not to be taken lightly and requires simple equipment (generally unavailable to purchase in India), but more importantly, training to use it properly. In this project, we used a model that we developed and tested in 2016, and adapted it for use in the context of the Himalayan region (specifically in the states of Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim), which has both a higher diversity and different species of venomous snakes than the rest of India.
Vishal Santra (Simultala Conservationists) trains the Dharamsala Divisional Forest Officer, Shri Dadwal, in the use of snake handling equipment
Forest Deptartment staff in Himachal Pradesh get up close and personal with a (non-venomous) snake for the first time in their lives
Vishal Santra describing common situations that can result in snakebite and how to avoid them
Dr Anita Malhotra and Vishal Santra presents Shri Bhuwan Pradhan, the Sikkim Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) with specially made sets of snake handling equipment
The Divisional Forest Officer in Yuksom, West Sikkim, being presented with posters depicting local venomous and non-venomous snakes