Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Russell's Kukri

Variegated/Russell's Kukri

This snake was found dead on the road in campus one evening, probably run over by a passing vehicle. It's a non-venomous snake with the scientific name Oligodon taeniolatus. If anybody knows the Telugu name for this snake, let me know! It's called a Kukri snake because of its teeth, which resemble the Kukri, a curved Nepalese knife. The teeth are specially adapted for breaking open eggs of birds and other reptiles which are its main diet. You can check the Wikipedia article for more information. Incidentally, Dr. Patrick Russell was the author of a book on Indian snakes in 1796.

I have found a number of frogs killed in the same manner by speeding vehicles on campus. It would be nice if something could be done about this. Suggestions anyone?

4 comments:

Sankalp said...

we used to dig snake pits around the tent when we went camping. maybe pits on both sides of the road could be of use. they won't be effective for frogs though.

charlie67UK said...

Hi, I am coming to Hyderabad on business in October and am very keen to find out where are the best places to go within a short distance of the city for looking for wildife, mainly insects, birds, reptiles etc. I only have a couple of days max and would appreciate any help! Also are there ant sites dedicated to the reptiles/ insect life in and around Hyderabad, any societies?

Anonymous said...

Hi charlie
I didn't check this earlier, sorry. There are a few places in the city- try Botanical Gardens, Sanjeevaiah Park for some urban birding. There is Narsapur forest and Manjira Barrage, but both are a bit far off. There is a Yahoo group by the Birdwatchers' Society of Andhra Pradesh. Look for BSAP_Online.

ksaurabh87 said...

hi. i am snakefriend working in nagpur. before few days i found russell's kukri. i had not ever seen that snake.so i asked all snakefriends in nagpur.nobody could tell me its name.. aftersurfing i got it.. but i dont know its marathi or hindi name . can anybody help