Experts document endemic snakes of Western Ghats, feature 18 in poster

Panaji: In a bid to draw the spotlight on the lesser-known but important biodiversity, 18 snakes, among some of the endemic and uncommon snake species of the north Western Ghats, have been featured in a poster released by Mhadei Research Centre (MRC).


As a part of the awareness campaign, the poster will be distributed in educational institutes, field offices of line departments of forests and local panchayat bodies and through various snake rescuer networks.


The MRC is studying and documenting the biodiversity of Mhadei bio-region of Goa, Karnataka, and Maharashtra and is also a part of the Western Ghats Snakes Coalition.


“The poster is a first step to acknowledge the presence of this diversity in these landscapes. We have included only 18 species that require conservation spotlight now,” Nirmal Kulkarni, herpetologist and MRC director said.


The poster includes some beautiful snakes, such as collared cat snake, Thackeray’s cat snake, northern western ghats vine snake, Khaire’s black shield tail and others. Keelbacks, vine snakes, pit vipers and shield tails—all critically lesser-known—comprise the important species in the poster.


However, no information is available about the population estimates of any snake species in the Western Ghats.


Anthropogenic activities, illegal trade and climate change conditions are some of the factors that pose a threat to the herpetofauna in this region, which is a biodiversity hotspot and a region of high endemism. All details in the poster by MRC intend to educate masses on the 18 snake species while maintaining the awareness factor.