Establishing a baseline trend and diversity of snake rescues in the Kali Tiger Reserve, Karnataka.

Abstract

As human-snake encounters become increasingly frequent, snake rescuers play a significant role in protectingboth snakes and humans. To improve the procedures of snake rescues in human-dominated areas and ensuregreater accountability, providing structured protocols and establishing evidence-based snake-human encounter managementis increasingly important. Herein we analyze snake rescues in and around the Kali Tiger Reserve, Karnataka,India, to identify trends and document the diversity of snake species encountered in human-dominated landscapes.Snake rescues by the Forest Department staff of the Kali Tiger Reserve from 2012 to 2022 involved 31 species in 22genera, with Ptyas (29.3%), Naja (21.7%), Chrysopelea (9.9%), and Python (9.7%) being the most frequently rescued.The numbers of frequently rescued species is indicative of the overall quality of habitat, whereas the frequency of rescuesof near-threatened species in the genera Python (278 rescues) and Eryx (54 rescues) demonstrates the importanceof implementing effective conservation policies. We also highlight the need for proper record-keeping of rescues forfurther research and decision-making, monitoring survival of translocated individuals, and the need for educationalawareness programs about threatened and venomous snakes directed to the area’s human populations.