A viper in my garden!

Ah! The daily excitement of living in a place like Sevagram! A Russell’s viper appears in our garden. Thanks to ‘Sarpamitra’ Jeetendra for catching it and releasing it into the wild.

Russell’s vipers are one of the most venomous species of snakes in the subcontinent. Incidentally the scientific name is Daboia russelii– the word दबौया comes from the Hindi for “the one who hides”. It was lurking coiled around one of the shrubs, not moving at all.

 

This guy has some guts! That kid is his son. And he just came on his bike with his son and a stick when we called him

Look at those fangs!!!

Standing behind the Sarpamitra and trying to be brave for the camera and yet not daring to touch the reptile!