The phone rings at a base station in Agumbe, the heart of king cobra country.
Caller: We have a huge black snake with white lines under a boulder.
Receiver: Black snake? Don't go close. We are on our way.
Three vehicles, with 16 people, seven snake hooks, four snake bags, nine cameras and a lot of adrenaline, rush out. Two hours and several hairpin bends later, we are at the location in a Karnataka village. Some of us have sent prayers in advance to our respective family deities. We are led to a small rock. Under it is a tiny and harmless wolf snake. Black and white, as described, but not a king cobra. We head back, laughing all the way.
I am a snake man. My life centres on demystifying these jewels of the animal world. If and when we meet, chances are that I will speak more about snakes with you than the local fish for lunch, as a Goan should!
The Beginning
Son: Baba, I was part of a team that has discovered a new Caecilian species…
Father: Umm, what's that? It looks like a worm. Son: It eats worms, baba. It's an amphibian.
Father: Really? Couldn't you find something bigger and better looking? How can I tell my friends that my son discovered a new worm that's not even a worm?
This story is from the June - July 2023 edition of Outlook Traveller.
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This story is from the June - July 2023 edition of Outlook Traveller.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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