Snakes are critical to environmental health

Hiss... Most of us get scared hearing this sound the snakes produce, but this is primarily a defensive mechanism the reptiles use to deter potential threats.

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People have deadly fear towards snakes, as a single bite can end life in hours, and for this, snakes often fall prey to human grudge. As the conflict continues till date, let us know the importance of this reptile to our environment, even as this year’s theme “Respect, Don't Fear: Protecting Nature's Silent Guardians” is perfectly coined. The theme focuses on compassion and conservation.

Speaking to Orissa POST, experts have called for larger awareness on snakebites and protection of the beautiful species.

Sathee Parivar, an organisation dedicated to rescue and conservation of snakes, has been continuously working to bridge the gap between snakes and humans by spreading awareness. Shedding light on the contribution of snakes to maintain the process of food chain, the organisation's president Siddharth Pradhan said, “When people hear about the word snake, they fear for life. But in reality, they are friends of humans, particularly farmers. As we all know, mouse and shrews eat crops, but rat snakes prevent this. They play a key role in neutralising the rodent population by eating them from farmlands.”