Hump-Nosed Pit Viper [ Hypnale hypnale] - Indian Snakes

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Restricted to the Western Ghats of India and parts of Central Sri Lanka, Hump Nosed Pit Viper loves spending day in the leaf litter on the forest floor. This snake is a perfect example for camouflage, since spotting it in the leaf litter on the forest floor is a difficult task. 

Wayanad Keelback: An Endemic Snake from Southern Western Ghats Video

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Wayanad Keelback (Amphiesma monticola) is a non-venomous snake endemic to western Ghats. We found it on the way to Agasthyarkoodam, in Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala, India. It was resting on the side of the road, after the area was swept out by a large forest fire. The tribal tracker (who was a member of the kani tribe) with us, said that they call this snake - Padakootti(someone who can gather forces) - and believes that if somebody mess up with one snake, he/she will come back with a lot of snakes. 

However, herpetologists from Kerala suggest that the local name could be a mistake by the tracker. 

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Unethical wildlife photographers new threat to Slender Loris in South India

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Slender Loris (Loris lydekkerianus)
Image Courtesy: Kalyan Varma

Unethical shutterbugs have joined the league of black magicians and pet rackets as a growing threat to the existence Slender Loris, a small primate found in parts of South India, says a new research note published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa.

By surveying Kani tribes in Peppara wildlife sanctuary in Kerala and by analysing photos in a major Indian wildlife photography website, the study points out that unethical handling of Lorises for wildlife photography is rampant in South India. The practice could be one among the poorly documented threats to this smallest primate endemic to South India and Sri Lanka, says the study.

Slender Loris is a nocturnal primate, found in two subspecies- (Loris lydekkerianus and Loris malabaricus) in South India which are active only in the night and spend their whole day sleeping round as a ball. The nocturnal nature of these slow loris keeps it elusive and less accessible to wildlife tourists and wildlife photographers alike.

Arrange Loris photo-shoots, get paid!

According to the study, wildlife photographers in Thiruvananthapuram - the capital city of Kerala- pay Rs. 500 to 1500 to the indigenous Kani tribes in the areas to capture Slender Lorises and arrange photo shoots. The practice occurs despite the fact that the animal is protected under Schedule I of The Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Apart from capturing and keeping it, the Lorises are often tightly held on short branches and prodded so that it won’t move during a photo shoot; to help the ‘professional wildlife photographer’ get enough good pictures. Moreover, the poor animal will be illuminated with torches aimed at it, says the study. It is a known fact that aiming strong light sources like torches and camera flashes at Slender Lorises for longer, will be irritating to the animal since it has very sensitive, large eyes to help their nocturnal life.

The study team has also noted that the animal captured for such photo shoots are not returned to the place from it was collected. In one incident, to which the team was witness, the animal was released next day to an isolated bamboo clump near the house, after the photographer getting enough pictures. The bamboo clump had no vegetation continuity to reach back to the place from which the Loris was collected, says the study. 

   Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary As seen from the dam

Shadow auror at English Wikipedia 
[GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons 

As per accounts of the tribes, it is usual to get Loris with infants which are again treated the same way. Another respondent, says the study, has cut down at least four trees to restrict a Loris to a single tree so that it will not escape.

The research team has also noted that the tribes are so much familiarized with the practice that they hold the animal in different ways to help the photographer get very good angles.

It was while studying about the status of forest dwelling chelonians in Agasthyamalai region, that the research team came to notice the unethical wildlife photography practices.Arun Kanagavel, Rajkumar Sekar and Rajeev Raghavan  of  Conservation Research Group (CRG), St. Albert’s College, Cochin, and Cynthia Sinclair of Wildlife Information Liaison Development Society (WILD), Zoo Outreach Organization were part of the study team.

Money matters. well, more than tradition

However, from the study, it can be found that the tribes are not completely unaware of the conservation angle traditionally. Informal interviews with the kani tribes reveals that the tribes otherwise don’t prefer catching this insect eating, slowly moving primate, since it is believed to resemble their hill god (mala daivam). Connecting such organisms with the divine was an old, time-tested traditional trick of nature conservation in the Asian countries. The tribes also don’t keep Loris as pets since its looks are unpopular. They often consider it a bad luck to sight a Loris in the forests. Despite these beliefs, the money offered by photographers are luring the tribes to indulge in this unethical practices against their traditional beliefs.

Actually, the tribes take extra pain to do the business. According to the accounts, painful bites are a usual while capturing the primate. When kept in home, the animal has to be covered under clothes to avoid women in the house seeing it, since unmarried woman having a look at the Loris will stay a spinster throughout the life, as per traditional belief.

The cyberspace connection

To study the trend deeply, the research team has also surveyed the Loris photos available on a major Indian wildlife photography portal. They have found that majority of the pictures were taken during day time, with the animal in awakened position, often hinting blatant ill-treatment.

Out of the 28 cases they have studied, 16 involved mistreating the animal. 13 photographs of this nocturnal animal were taken during day. According to the study, the incidents of the unethical practice were more sighted in photographs taken from Karnataka.

Ethical aspects of Wildlife photography

The ethical guidelines in wildlife photography discourage forcing an animal from its natural conditions to get favorable pictures. Altering the habitat of an animal to get beautiful pictures is anything beyond the ethical grounds of wildlife photography. However, it is unfortunate to notice that majority of the wildlife photographers – both professional and matures- are less concerned about such ethical aspects of the trade.

“It is not this species alone that is facing threat. Instances of unethical photography inside the wildlife sanctuaries and core areas are growing,” said Balan Madhavan, wildlife photographer and a member of the International League of Conservation Photographers.According to him, Wildlife photography is part of nature conservation but these unethical practices by certain people are marring the very essence of it.

"(Most of ) those people engaged in this unethical practice are doing it for popularity. They are less concerned about wildlife or its conservation and are uploading those photos on social networking sites", said he. It is time to bring some kind of regulation to such unethical practices, he added.

Other Threats to Loris

However, the wildlife photographers are just an addition to the threats to the existence of this endemic primate.  Earlier studies have revealed that astrologers in South India use it for picking tarot cards. Like the Slow Loris, pet trade target Slender Loris also.  Practitioners of Traditional medicine also prefer loris since it is believed to have medicinal properties to treat a variety of ailments including leprosy . Some traditional medical practitioners also use the tears from Slender Loris to treat eye ailments and to prepare love potions. Illegal capturing and trading of lorises for all these purposes is a major threat to the life of this animal.

Striated Fivering spotted after 90 years in India during Neyyar WLS butterfly survey

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Thiruvananthapuram: Butterfly researchers were stunned when they accidentally met and photographed Striated Five-ring (Ypthima striata ), a rare butterfly from Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala during a recent butterfly survey,  since the last records of this small butterfly from India dates back to 19th century.

Image Courtesy: Indian Foundation for Butterflies

According to Dr. Kalesh Sadashivan, a butterfly expert and PRO of Travancore Natural History Society (TNHS), the record is the first one after 90 years, when the butterfly was last reported from Nilgiri by British collectors. 

“The highlight of the survey was the discovery of the Striated Five-ring by Dr. Kunte and Dr.Milind which is the only known record in the country in the last 90 years. It was never found after it was collected from the Nilgiris in the last century”, says a post in the official group of TNHS in Facebook.

The butterfly was spotted near Venkulamedu near Anainirathy base camp inside Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary by a team lead by Dr. Krushnamegh Kunte  and Dr. Milind Bhakare during the survey. The photographs made by the survey team which are available Indian Foundation for Butterflies, could be the first live pictures of the rare butterfly from India.

Historical records show that G F Hampson has mentioned about the butterfly in his “Butterflies of the Nilgiri District”, published in 1888. According to his accounts, he collected a male specimen of the butterfly from Nilgiris at 5000 ft on August 25^th of 1888. He has mentioned the habitat of the butterfly as the southern slopes of the Nilgiris with an elevation of 2000 to 4000 ft. 

According to Dr. Kunte, the new discovery is very important since the first record is from north of the Palghat gap and is some 500 to 600 kilometers from the latest report. Thus the new record indicates that the actual distribution of Striated Five-ring is not just restricted to Nilgiris.

Apart from the record of Striated Five-ring, the survey teams have also spotted Joker, an elusive butterfly which has been reported just twice from Kerala during the last 120 years. 

239 butterfly species identified at Peppara and Neyyar WLS

 According to sources, the survey has recorded a total of 239 butterfly species among which 22 are found only from Western Ghats from Peppara and Neyyar WLS together. The teams has reported 186 species of butterfly species from Neyyar WLS and 153 species at Peppara WLS. The findings of the survey may be published into a booklet detailing the butterfly diversity of Peppara and Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuaries, said sources. 

The three-day butterfly survey was jointly conducted by Kerala Forest Department and Travancore Natural History Society  during December 14th to 16th. According to TNHS, More than 30 volunteers from different parts of the country took part in the survey.

Now watch two mating Common Fivering butterflies after the break.