Kerala's Vava Suresh rescues snakes that stray into human habitats

He gave up schooling to dedicate his life to rescue and protect snakes and 25 years of dogged efforts have seen 37-year-old Vava Suresh catch 25,000 of the slithery creatures, most of them cobras.

Suresh rescues snakes that stray into human habitats and release them back into bushes or forests where they could live and flourish without being harmed by humans.

He said he was born to 'love and guard' snakes without being driven by any monetary considerations.

Braving poisonous bites, the ‘snake-man’ of Kerala has caught about 25,000 snakes, most of them cobras, from various parts of the state and put them back into forests.

Calls from various corners of the state, on sighting of snakes, keep his mobile phone busy throughout the day.Even local police and fire-force sometime use his expertise in trapping snakes without causing harm to the reptile or people.

Suresh, living in Thiruvananthapuram, said snakes are gentle and lovable creatures which need kindness and protection from men.

"Snakes are part of my life ever since childhood.I, ctually, do not know how I fell in love with them. As a child I had seen people brutally killing snakes.That instilled sympathy for the creature in my mind. At the same time, idols of serpents in temples made me feel that they have some divinity and should be protected," Suresh told PTI.

"I get around 15 calls a day seeking my service to catch snakes which people sight in their residential premises. Many of them get my phone number from police stations or from fire force units. Some local dailies also publish my mobile number for the people to contact me easily," he said.

Suresh caught his first snake alive when he was 12. Since then, his catch list include 12 King cobras, 7000 Indian cobras, 1600-1700 vipers and 150 kraits.

A conservationist’s passion and sympathetic approach towards snakes is what makes Suresh different from other catchers.

He never uses hooks or other sharp tools to trap the reptile as such implements will harm the delicate and slimy body.He will never allow people to kill them after trapping.

Suresh prefers to describe himself as a self-made snake catcher.

"I abandoned my schooling at 12.Since then,I have been living for the reptile.Sometimes I feel God has sent me to earth to protect them," he said.

According to Suresh, King cobra is the most dangerous and difficult snake to catch.

"Trapping King cobra is very risky as it is highly venomous. It becomes all the more tenacious when it hatches eggs.In such situations, I choose to collect eggs and keep it in my house. Once they hatch,I release the hatchlings into forests."

His house at Sreekaryam area in the city, is a mini-snake park. He keeps them at home safely away from danger and release them into forests at regular intervals.

"I have hatched around 450 cobra eggs in the last month alone. A large number of eggs of different snake species are still at my home. I hope it will get hatched by the end of this month. I am planning to release them collectively into the forests after that," Suresh said.

He had got 18 tortoise eggs also during a recent snake chase at a house in Thiruvanathapuram, the capital city.

His passion for conservation has made his life unpredictable. He is always on the move in search of snakes on call from people who are in urgent need of his service. There were days when he attended 10 to 15 cases. Some times, the ‘rescue mission’ will continue for 20-22 hours at a stretch.

"It may be easy to trap a snake. But, to catch them without hurting them is more important for me," he said.

Suresh has suffered very few snakebites.

The last such incident happened a couple of months back when he tried to show a female cobra with eggs, which he had trapped, to some mediapersons and got bitten. Though he had to spend many days in hospital, the incident did not dent his passion for rescuing and protecting snakes.

Snakes are less dangerous than human beings as they will inject their venom only when harmed,he said,in a lighter vein.

"Humans can tame any other animal or creature in the world, but never snakes.It is what I learnt from my three-decade-long experience. They sense with their forked and moving tongue.Whatever object they come across is taken as prey or food by them.That’s why they bite other creatures including humans.They are not doing it intentionally," Suresh said.