Understanding Snakes: Debunking Myths and the Importance of Conservation in Nepal

Kathmandu. Perhaps because we are taught from a young age to run far away the moment we see a snake, a certain fear of snakes resides in the minds of many people. Our fear of snakes is not innate but developed later in life. Every year, thousands of people around the world lose their lives to snakebites. Furthermore, many people believe that all snakes are venomous and that one dies immediately upon being bitten.

However, out of more than 3,400 snake species discovered worldwide, only about 700 are venomous, and among those, only about 200 possess venom capable of killing a human. In Nepal, 89 species of snakes have been recorded so far, and only 18 of them have venom that can be fatal to humans. Among the venomous snakes found in Nepal, the King Cobra and the Banded Krait are considered to have some of the most dangerous venom in the world.

However, both of these snakes are quite shy by nature and feed on other snakes to survive. For this reason, they do not want to waste their venom unnecessarily, and incidents of human death caused by these two snakes are very rare. Some species of snakes even perform dry bites because they do not want to waste their venom.

Snakes play a vital role in our environment by keeping the populations of rats, frogs, lizards, birds, etc., stable. Common venomous snakes found in Nepal include the Cobra, Krait, Green Pit Viper, and Checkered Keelback. Challenges in snake conservation are arising due to factors such as the lack of arable land, pollution in water sources, collisions with vehicles, and the tendency of people to kill them on sight.

If attention is not paid to snake conservation in time, our fields will be filled with rats and our streams with frogs in the future, which will have a major negative impact on our agriculture and the environment. Photo: Drishtant Bidari/Nepal Photo Library