Russell’s Viper
Sony A9ii
Sony 90mm
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
The Russell’s Viper also known as “kolak mandala” in Kannada, are found in a variety of habitats ranging from empty housing plots in rapidly urbanising cities to agriculture fields across the state, they prey on rodents, and other smaller reptiles. This species is highly venomous and is responsible for a high number of deaths from snake bites in India. The most common threat to this snake is fear. A lot of people, perceive them as dangerous and kill them. My gardener found this snake to my surprise, in my house garden right in the middle of Bangalore, coiled up to a plant, when he was pruning it. I asked him to keep a safe distance and informed the BBMP wildlife cell, they sent a person to rescue the snake and it was safely released into the wild.
Russell's viper, is a venomous snake in the family Viperidae native to the Indian subcontinent and one of the big four snakes in India. It was described in 1797 by George Shaw and Frederick Polydore Nodder, and named after Patrick Russell, who wrote about it in his 1796 work "An account of Indian serpents, collected on the coast of Coromandel".
comments (1)