Snake charm - HELP EARTH :A Society For Conservation Of

THE ASSAM TRIBUNE
GUWAHATI, SATURDAY, AUGUST 8, 2009
Page
3
S
NAKE, the name itself sends a chill
down the spine. Whether we like
them or not they are a part of our
age-old culture and heritage. In most
cases they depict negative forces.
Even quotes and proverbs in different languages have given them a special place.
There may be very few animals with more
enigmas associated with, than a snake. Even
today when intergalactic communication is
becoming a reality, people find it hard to
believe that snakes are just like any other
animal around us. Myths and superstitions
have made them more then just an animal.
One of the most popular of all these myths
is the concept of icchadhari nagin wherein
a snake by its wish can turn from itself to a
human being. Interesting! Philosophically
humans are the greatest creation of God.
Now if a snake can switch between itself
and human being, it should have been the
greatest creation ever. Scientifically, evolutionary biologists in the likes of Darwin and
Lamarck would have turned in their graves
seeing such a fast rate of evolution. But the
fact is they are just another vertebrate occupying a place in animal kingdom, with may
be just a little exception in the form of venom that a few of them produce.
Snakes are a very interesting group of animals which are believed to have evolved
from lizards like life forms more then 100
million years ago. Those lizards like forms
slowly evolved to what we know today as
snake. The first thing we notice in this evolution is the loss of limb. Let us think of
ourselves without limbs, it’s just scary! But
for snake it was rather a boon. Now it could
get hold of its prey into those burrows and
holes where its previous form could not,
because their limbs usually got stuck! Gradual evolution has made them master hunters. They can swim in water, crawl on
ground, climb tall trees and some of them
can even glide in air. Also they do not have
ears like their lizard cousins. This means
that they are deaf to the air borne sounds.
But what about those spellbinding street
snake shows, where the snake charmers
make the snake dance to the tune of its
been. Snakes actually cannot listen to any
of those tunes which have a far fetched effect in our own Bollywood. The snake rather
focuses on to the movement of the arms
and the been of the charmer and just responds to those movements. Rather snakes
Snake
charm
taste their environment. The forked tongue
of the snake is its most important sense
organ that collects the scent particles around
it. These scents are then decoded in an organ attached to the roof of the tongue,
called the Jacobson’s organ. That’s why we
see the snake flicker its tongue. By doing
this they keep a track of their surroundings.
Though some snakes have acute vision, but
in most cases they are no match to us in
seeing this beautiful world. In addition to
these, some snakes have an additional sense
organ in the form of ‘thermo receptor pits’.
These are either located on the upper lips
or between the nose and the eyes of the
snake. Through these pits they can gauge
the slightest of temperature fluctuations
around them, thus enabling the snake to
strike with surgical precision, even in complete darkness.
Snake are ‘ectotherms’, meaning that they
cannot regulate their body temperature as
we do. That is why they hide during winter.
Another queer character of snakes is that
they regularly shed their skin. This is because they grow continually; and the old
cover can no longer hold them.
Perhaps the most important thing regarding the snakes is their capacity to produce venom. This venom is produced in
small sacs called venom glands present in
the posterior part of their upper jaw. When
Know the
WORD
Deva Kumar Das
Jayaditya Purkayastha
a snake is excited or feels threatened it
lets lose this venom which travels from
the gland to the fangs via venom ducts.
Fangs are actually just the enlarged teeth.
A typical fang is hollow from inside,
through which venom runs out when an
injection is made. Fortunately, majority
of the snakes are non-venomous and rather harmless as opposed to our prevailing
belief. Our irrelevant fear associated with
snakes is one of the most important factors in the way of their conservation. For
most, all snakes are venomous. But the
fact is in India, only about 20% of all
snakes, except those living in sea, can
cause a fatal bite to humans. Even more
interestingly, most of them are forestdwellers and less than 7% of these venomous snakes come in any type of human contact. The snake venom is a complex mixture of proteins and inorganic
ions. The venom once administered in the
body of the victim will act according to its
composition. The venom of cobras and
kraits are basically neurotoxic in origin,
wherein they block the nerve impulses and
generally the victim suffocates to death,
as the nerves feeding the diaphragm with
impulses generally stop working. The ef-
fect of envenomation can be experienced
quickly, maybe within an hour of bite. For
others like certain vipers producing cytotoxic venom, the effect may take time to
set in. Bite from this type of snake generally destroys the tissue and causes necrosis. In this type of bite even if the life is
saved, the victim may have to go for organ amputation.
Fortunately, the answer to these snake
bites lie in the snake venom itself. The
antivenom is the only medication available
during a venomous bite. The antivenom is
prepared from the venom of the snake itself. Also the venom has other medicinal
implications. Studies show that snake venom may slow down tumour growth. The
anticoagulant property in the venom of
some snakes may help treat various heart
ailments. Snake venom can also help formulate pain-killers thousand times more
potent than morphine. Snakes, in general, are also important. They maintain balance in the ecosystem. It reminds me of
Janmastami festival celebrated in Mumbai,
where devotees form a human pyramid with
a goal to break a dahi handi above them.
Now consider removing any of the devotees from the pyramid except the top one.
What will be the outcome? Yes, the whole
structure will collapse. The snake here is
equivalent to any of those devotees, re-
L
spree of random testing of nuclear weapons. InternaITTLE Boy was 4,000 kg in weight and 3 m in
tional nuclear black marketing is now a million-dollar
length and 60 kg of Uranium-235 was used to
business. China tested the first bomb on October 16,
build it. It was the first atom bomb. On August
1964. India did the historic test at Pokhran, on May 18,
6, 1945, at 8:15 am, Little Boy was dropped
1974. Following these, Pakistan set up a gas centrifuge
on Hiroshima by America to avenge Japan’s
uranium power plant. England, Holland, and West GerSeptember 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor attack; Little Boy
many jointly devised the gas centrifuge system to enrich
exploded 580 m above the ground; the explosion,
uranium commercially. To continue the nuclear research,
equivalent to 12 kiloton TNT, took 45 minutes to enPakistan, which boasts of
velope the city entirely in
sophisticated military
the nuclear cloud. After
power and virtually heads
three days, on August 9,
the Islamic countries, got
1945, at 11:02 am, antremendous financial help
other Plutonium-239
from them and regularly
based bomb, which was
bought uranium enrich4,500 kg in weight and 3
ment machines in dism in length was exploded
guise. Pakistan had even
500 m above Nagasaki, Jadisobeyed IAEA (Internapan. It was Fat Man.
tional Atomic Energy
The immense impulse
Agency) adamantly in its bid to build the
from nuclear explosions made air blow
Neilay Khasnabish
bomb. Now Pakistan is a nuclear power.
at a speed of 0.37 km per second both
Future wars will be nuclear wars. If
in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. After four
unfortunately wars happen, the nuclear weapons will
hours of the blasts, it began to rain heavily. It was black
be cast at the industrial areas of the enemy countries.
rain full of acid. Some people, who managed to survive
To destroy a place having more than 30 lakh people, a
the attacks, just went mad, failing to find their families
10-megaton bomb is sufficient. If a one-megaton bomb
alive. In the delayed stage of the explosions, radioactivis exploded about 40 km above a country, the massive
ity broke the chromosomes of the body cells of the
electro magnetic impulse will make electricity, radar, and
survivors, caused them cancer, and killed the cells inside
others electronics communication systems go out of order
their bones; the victims of ionised radiations got laid up
in an instant. The atomic war can miserably stop huwith nausea, fever, secretion of blood from the gum
man progress. So, many countries are now thinking of
and the nose, loss of hair and immune system, extreme
building underground radioactivity proof homes or fallweakness, and finally blood cancer; their hemopoietic
out shelters. It cannot be guaranteed that such homes
tissues got severely damaged; they suffered from suffoor shelters will be totally fruitful.
cation and over sensitivity; the beta ray burnt their skin;
Nuclear weapons have given international politics and
they lost their vision; their thyroid glands became
diplomacy a new dimension. People all over the world
smashed up; the cries of paralysed children, who were
chant slogans against nuclear research projects. The nuborn to them, filled their houses. History shamefacedly
clear waste, kept inside the soil in large steel tanks, also
recorded all this – the human devastation, the huge
produce hazardous radiation. This radiation makes uninhumanity, the abject condition surrounding the surviderground water undrinkable. This radiation severely afvors.
fects the marine life. As the longevity of a nuclear power
A nuclear explosion forms a giant fireball and rapidly
plant is about 20 years, it is certain that people cannot
increases, while moving upward with its full radius and
escape the menace when the plant is abandoned. Demass. The radius of this fireball depends on the intenspite protests and oppositions, most countries are still
sity of the bomb; one-megaton bomb can produce a
frantically trying to carry out their nuclear programmes.
fireball of 1,200 m radius. Both fission and fusion reacThe tropical countries like India can exploit the best
tions produce neutron, which reacts with nitrogen and
from the solar energy system. Both first world and third
emit gamma ray. The radioactive particles keep on floatworld countries should join hands to take the advantage
ing in the troposphere and the stratosphere for a long
of solar energy. The politicians adore power and intime. Some radioactive particles settle down due to the
stant fame. The bomb gives them confidence, power,
gravity, in a colloidal form. A nuclear explosion proand instant fame. But nobody is endowed with the leduces immense heat, causes the air temperature to rise
gitimate right to play with the lives of the innocent
to 2,000 Kelvin, and creates nitrogen oxide. Nitrogen
people.
oxide forms nitrous acid; nitrous acid, acid rain. A nuclear explosion produces other poisonous radioisotopes
which if get dissolved in acid rain and come in contact
with a man, make the latter suffer from severe skin
burn. The acid rain makes soil infertile and drinking
water poisonous. The nuclear radiation, emitted in a
nuclear explosion, increases the concentration of ozone
in the air and prevents the growth of plants.
Unfortunately, accidents may occur in a nuclear power
plant that contains enormous amount of refined radioactive materials, enough to demolish a country. The
workers of a nuclear power plant sometimes fall prey
to nuclear fallout. In such a plant, the workers are replaced at short intervals since they cannot work in front
of the radioactive substances at a stretch, for several
days. Till today, about more than 14,000 workers have
been replaced at Tarapur nuclear plant.
Nowadays, the designing of a nuclear weapon is no
longer a secret. Several third world countries are on the
Nuclear
nightmare
I
DIOMS are a group of words which have a special
meaning when used together. Listed below are
ten idioms. How many of them do you know?
Find out. Match the idiom in column A with its
meaning in column B.
A
1. Take to one’s
heels
2. In for it
3. The small hours
4. It’s no go
5. Learn by heart
6. Hang-dog look
7. Hare brained
8. Under the hammer
9. Nine day’s wonder
10.Strike oil
B
a) Memorize
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
Guilty expression
Wonder soon over
With little sense
On the verge of trouble
Between 1 am and 3 am
Up for sale
Make a lucky discovery
It will not work
Run away
ANSWERS
A
1. Take to one’s
heels
2. In for it
3. The small hours
4. It’s no go
5. Learn by heart
6. Hang-dog look
7. Hare brained
8. Under the hammer
9. Nine day’s wonder
10. Strike oil
e)
f)
i)
a)
b)
d)
g)
c)
h)
On the verge of trouble
Between 1 am and 3 am
It will not work
Memorize
Guilty expression
With little sense
Up for sale
Wonder soon over
Make a lucky discovery
B
j) Run away
SCORES: All correct: Superior, Eight correct: Good,
Six correct: Average
move the snake and the whole ecosystem
will collapse. Also snakes feed upon small
mammals like rats and mice which are a
menace to farmers.
In India most of the snakes are protected
by law but practices like snake charming,
trade of snake skin and malicious killing of
snake still prevails. Most of the venomous
snakes used by snake charmers are either
defanged or the whole venom gland is removed, and ultimately the snake dies a slow
and painful death. Here we can play a vital
role by not participating in these types of
inhuman displays. But, there still remains
an ethical question to be answered. What
will the snake charmers do now? They were
doing what they knew the best. The answer lies with the Irulas of South India. The
Irulas now have taken up the work of venom extraction from the snakes with the help
of local agencies. Their knowledge on
snakes is again earning them their bread,
but this time for a noble cause, for production of antivenom. Another problem is the
snake-human encounter itself. In most cases, the former has to lose its life because of
our misconception regarding them. Fact is
snakes only bite if provoked or cornered, or
else their general instinct is to avoid us. They
are rather more afraid of us than we are of
them!
More than hundred species of snakes are
reported from the Northeast India. About
25 odd species of snakes can be found in
and around Guwahati itself with checkered
keelback (dhora saap), common water snake
(meni saap), common wolf snake (maruli
saap), striped keelback (bamuni saap), trinket snake (nilaji gom), redneck keelback (batraj), python (ajagar), monocled cobra
(chokori pheti), Indian rat snake (hulaberia)
being the most common ones. Since the
Northeast is a biodiversity hotspot, more
research will certainly reveal new data regarding the snakes. With more knowledge
of facts regarding snakes the irrelevant myths
and superstitions among masses will slowly
die out, thus helping the cause of conservation of this misinterpreted animal. Whatever it is, we still remain the greatest creation
of nature ever, but why? It’s just because if
any organism has the power of reorganizing most of the aspects of nature for a better tomorrow, it’s ‘us’. If we do not take
care of our earthly cousins, who will?
Jaya_ditya@rediffmail.com
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