Handling snakes is something I learnt before I could even tie my shoelace, but I do have a deep affection for them. why? I don't know!
I saw people dying I saw them groan on the death beds, I heard there last wishes... eyewitnessed their families getting destroyed...
All of my stories started after my father taught me about snakes. When I grew up more, I was allowed to go close to them and even later I had to go through intense research and behavioral studies of snakes before I was finally exposed to real-time venomous snakes handling.
During my learning process, when I was 5 years old, I got several bitings but all of those were of non-venomous snakes. At the age of six onwards, my real journey with venomous snakes began and I was bitten up quite a few times then. Back then handling snakes and other animals were not prohibited. So I learned well to rescue them from the locality and set them free in our nearest forest that is in Bethua.
Similarly, last week I heard that a monocled cobra has laid eggs in our rural house. As usual, I went there and found that to be true. But the situation was complicated. The Cobra had laid eggs and even hatched out! That meant now I had to take care of the big one along with these newborns who have nothing to do except biting anything that moves in front of it!
Now let me explain my working process a bit:
Find and locate the snake and its whereabouts.
Check the spot if it is safe enough to work.
check for any wildlife or important plant in the region that make it hurt during the process.
And finally, to save everyone present nearby.
The complexity arose a step further when I spotted a large light-wood colored insect sitting at the base of the tree. It was in such a position that I might have stepped on it any time during the process, had I not noticed it then.
So I either I had to wait for it to go away, or I had to shoo it. I waited for 10 minutes and then tried to shoo it away with a leaf but it didn't go. So the only option I had left with me then was to try to handle the snake and his happy family from the other side that is, from the side of the thorny bushes.
Handling kids of Snakes is as critical as handling babies! As a result, I was bruised and scratched by the thorns, but somehow complete the mission of transferring them to a nearby dense forest, Though this cost me my t-shirt to get fully perforated!
Now the main part of the story. The grasshopper-like insect. I saw it was still there at the tree base while returning. So I took out my camera and short it nicely. In fact, I went so close to the insect that I was pretty sure it'd move or fly away, but it didn't. This struck me. It was against insect behavior, especially of that type. So I picked up a straw and pushed its tip close to him.... the moment it touched the insect I was shocked.
He was dead. Not only that, it even got dried up in the sun and due to hot and humid weather, and it was somehow stuck to the tree! This was a case of apparent survivability.
In the end, a dead insect gave me such an awe-inspiring experience that it almost changed my views about nature and Wild-life.
Okay, guys, it was nice to share this with you! Thanks!😌