Indian Rat Snake vying for official reptile of Kerala status

Rat snakes, also known as friends of farmers, have great conservation value and shall be protected by declaring it as the State Reptile. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Indian Rat Snake (Ptyas mucosa), regionally known as Chera, may be notified as the Official Reptile of Kerala.

The State Board for Wildlife, which will meet next week, will consider a proposal for notifying the snake, also known as Manja Chera and Karinchera as the official reptile.

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The non-venomous snake, which has been included in Schedule One of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, has been accorded the highest legal protection. The species, which is commonly found in human habitations, plays a major role in controlling the rodent population that damages agricultural crops including grains and tubers in fields and farmlands that spread infectious diseases. Rat Snakes, which are carnivorous, also consume the hatchlings of venomous and dangerous snakes, such as cobras, according to the proposal for notification.

Rat snakes, also known as friends of farmers, have great conservation value and shall be protected by declaring it as the State Reptile. The species is found in most parts of the country including Andaman Island.

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The campaign also highlighted the aspect that most deaths in human-wildlife conflicts were owing to snake bites. The Forest Department has been utilising the service of trained and certified volunteers for handling snakes and has popularised a mobile application SARPA to prevent incidents of snakebite.

Though the species has been categorised as a species of Least Concern in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species owing to its wide geographic range and relatively large population, “it is heavily exploited for various uses throughout its range and has experienced high rates of decline in parts of its range.”

The species may be threatened by overexploitation for food, skins, and medicinal purposes, as it is heavily traded and used throughout its range and is considered to have undergone significant population decline. “The global population trend of the species is decreasing,” noted the assessment report.

The snake is found in diverse habitats, including forests, forest clearings and edges, open tropical dry forests, savannas, scrublands, plantations, villages and cultivated areas. “It feeds on rodents, but also eats birds, lizards, frogs and other snakes. It lays several clutches per year of up to 18 eggs,” according to the assessment report.

The large-bodied snake, which is commonly found near human habitation, is consumed locally in parts of its range, especially in northeastern Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia, and Vietnam. It is also sold alive in markets and used in the snake wine industry in Vietnam and traded for food, skins, and medicinal purposes in Indonesia, according to the Red List.