Tamil Nadu snake catchers come to US' aid

CHENNAI: They were flown to Thailand when a group of researchers working on a snake project needed help catching cobras and kraits there. And now, when Florida is struggling to tackle an invasion of

Burmese pythons

, it's once again Masi Sadaiyan and Vadivel Gopal, two members of a snake-catching tribe from Tamil Nadu called the Irula, who have been flown to the rescue.

The two, who have been working with biologists from the University of Florida since January 6, have already captured 13 Burmese pythons, castaways of the pet trade that have become a threat to native species, especially birds and rabbits. One of the captured pythons was a 16-foot female, according to reports.

“The officials there tried all kinds of methods and have finally taken snake-catchers from here,” says says Yamini Bhaskar, assistant director Madras Crocodile Bank Trust (MCBT) -Centre for Herpetology. According to Washington Post, Florida paid $69,000 to hire the Irula men and their translators and fly them to the Everglades. For the community, it's a proud moment as their skills are finally getting international recognition. Known as the last “forest scientists” of the world, the Irulas have been snake catchers for generations. Their ability to track snakes -without using any sophisticated equipment and relying only on their own powers of intuition and observation -is what makes them much sought after.

Both Sadaiyan and Gopal, who are in their early 50s, are members of the Irula Snake Catchers' Industrial Cooperative Society (ISCICS), which is located on the premises of MCBT. Conservationist and herpetologist Romulus Whitaker established the Society in 1978 for the welfare of the Irula community who were deprived of their traditional livelihood when export of snake skins from India was banned in 1975 under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. The Irulas now extract and freeze-dry venom to sell it to anti-venom producing laboratories.

Mari, an Irula and experienced snake catcher, says that when they track a snake, they look out for three things -its scales on the soil, shed skin and the droppings. “These are the three vital clues, which indicate the presence or movement of snakes,“ he says. Mari's wife Suseela said: “My husband's father taught him how to catch snakes, and he mastered it over the years. I am proud that his skills are in demand in the US.”

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