Founder of Liana Trust, Gerard Martin (right) during a demonstration of venom extraction at the Serpentarium with Lisa Gonslaves (left) at Rathnapuri near Hunsur in Mysuru district.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
For long known as the land of snake charmers as dubbed by colonialists, India is also the world’s snakebite capital with an estimated 10 lakh people finding themselves at receiving end of the serpent’s lethal fangs every year. An unprecedented level of human-snake conflict stares at India, which accounts for almost 60,000 of the 1,40,000 global deaths due to venomous snakebites every year, a figure far higher than the human lives lost in conflict with other wild animals like elephants, leopards, tigers etc.
Less than a year after becoming India’s first State to declare snakebite envenoming cases and deaths as a notifiable disease in February 2024, Karnataka has become home to a serpentarium, the first of its kind in the country dedicated for snakebite research. The serpentarium set up in Rathnapuri near Hunsur in Mysuru district recently will begin extracting venom from snake species found in Karnataka for production of a more potent antivenom as part of the efforts to develop an effective treatment for snakebite victims in the State.
A view of the indoor Serpentarium at Rathnapuri.
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Anti-venom production
For the production of antivenom, a small amount of snake venom is injected into a large animal like a horse, which over a period of time develops antibodies that are harvested from the animal’s blood plasma. These antibodies are used as the life-saving antivenom for snakebite victims.
Presently, antivenom is produced from the venom of four species of snakes found in Tamil Nadu – Common Krait, Russell’s Viper, Saw Scaled Viper, Spectacled Cobra. The antivenom produced from the four species in Tamil Nadu, also known as ‘big four’, is used as a polyvalent antivenom against all snakebites, pointed out Herpetologist Sumanth Bindumadhav, who is also the Director of Wildlife Department of Humane Society International/India.
In a country as vast and as ecologically diverse as India, herpetologists have emphasised the need for a more diverse antivenom made from the venom of snakes of different species and regions to not only mitigate a large number of deaths but also prevent loss of limb, tissue damage, kidney failure or other forms of morbidity on account of snakebites.
A file picture of venom extraction.
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Even though the State Government seeks to reassure the public that Karnataka has adequate stock of antivenom for snakebites with as many as 60,000 vials available at all its public health facilities in the State, Gerard Martin, the founder Trustee of Liana Trust, which has set up the serpentarium, points out that the venom of the snakes varies from species to species and region to region.
“Even in the same species of snakes, the venom varies from one part of the country to another. The venom is different from a Russell’s viper that is found here from a Russel’s viper found in West Bengal. To have an efficient antivenom, which is effective and could save lives, we need to develop antivenom from the venom of snakes of that region,” he said.
For antivenom to be effective, it should be administered not only as early as possible, but also be made from the venom of snakes of the same region as the snake that has bitten the victim.
A view of the enclosures of the snakes at the Serpentarium at Rathnapuri.
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Seven species
The Serpentarium near Hunsur will be housing to start with a total of seven species of snakes found in the region viz. Common Krait, Russell’s Viper, Saw Scaled Viper, Spectacled Cobra, King Cobra, and two species of Pit Viper – the Malabar Pit Viper and Hump-nosed Pit Viper.
The facility presently comprises about 40 snakes belonging to common krait variety kept in an indoor facility while 22 Russel’s vipers and 16 cobras are housed in other enclosures. While collaborating with the Evolutionary Venomics Laboratory at Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, for venom-based research, the serpentarium aims to mass-produce venom samples by adhering to World Health Organization (WHO) standards and supplying the same to antivenom producers free of cost.
Curator of the serpentarium Lisa Gonsalves pointed out that a snake catchers co-operative society in Tamil Nadu was presently involved in harvesting venom from snakes captured from the wild for the purpose of producing antivenom.
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The venom will be supplied to both state-owned and private companies in the State for the production of quality antivenom that can be effective for the treatment of snakebite victims from the region. The serpentarium, which is funded by the Habitats Trust, was a ‘life-saving initiative and was not a commercial venture, says Martin.
Curator of the serpentarium Lisa Gonsalves pointed out that a snake catchers co-operative society in Tamil Nadu was presently involved in harvesting venom from snakes captured from the wild for the purpose of producing antivenom. But, the serpentarium will captive breed the snakes and extract venom from them without ecologically disturbing them. “Venom extraction can be done only once a month from each snake,” she added.
A poster of the WhatsApp chatbot on snakebite awareness.
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Research and conservation
The serpentarium is also expected to serve as a centre for training in snake husbandry, research and conservation, fostering a new generation of experts in these fields. “We will ensure much better snake husbandry practices than the country has ever seen before. Our snakes are healthy, bioactive and naturalistic places serve as their enclosures,” said Martin.
Published – February 14, 2025 09:00 am IST
