Anyone truly interested in snakes is careful and considerate while handling these elegant creatures. Handling of snakes is to be avoided in general, and if necessary, is to be done for the right reasons such as rescuing them, for educating people, for captive breeding or conservation. It is never meant to be done to enhance one's own reputation. Here is an interesting photograph - an acquaintance of mine is touching what he thought is a "Python<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_molurus>". Except, that its an extremely lethal Russell's Viper<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daboia> .....
Earlier we used to be worried only about the "Big Four" - the four highly venomous snakes in the Indian country-side considered to be responsible for the majority of deaths due to snake-bite . But there are many others too, such as ....... As far as anti-venin is concerned, there is an added complication. Recent taxonomic studies using genome mapping have revealed that the Big Four snakes in India (except the Russel's Viper) are not one species but actually comprise more than one species. The *Saw-scaled Viper* in the Deccan plateau is *Echis carinatus** *while the saw-scaled viper found in Rajasthan and North-west India is..... If you or an acquaintance is bitten by a snake, what should be done? First of all do not neglect it, even if you think or know the snake is non-poisonous, even if the skin does not appear to be broken. Dont even consider the old tourniquet thing, cut and suck, ice-therapy, the PIM method or "Jadi-buti" treatment. Get to medical aid as soon as possible. While moving a snake-bite casualty to hospital, do it RIGHT by following the the latest national first aid treatment recommended - based around the mnemonic : “Do it R.I.G.H.T.” which consists of .... * * Read about this in... "Handle that snake carefully!" in The Butterfly Diaries http://thebutterflydiaries.wordpress.com/2010/05/14/snake-handling/ Warm regards, *Ashwin Baindur* ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Col Ashwin Baindur OIC Corps Archive & Museum, CME, Dapodi Pune 411031 ------------------------------------------- Tel : *020-27147976* (R), Mob : *09923454462* Email: *ashwin.baindur(at)gmail.com, ashwin_baindur(at)yahoo.com* *------------------------------------------------------------------------* -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "efloraofindia" group. To post to this group, send email to indiantree...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to indiantreepix+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/indiantreepix?hl=en.
