A snake can save you!

Yes, snake's venom can save a person from diseases such as Diabetes mellitus! After venom is secreted in venom glands and it remained unused, where does it go then? Or what happens to it?

Chameleon, the turncoat!

We call turncoats as 'Chameleons' ('Pacshondhi' in Tamil), comparing their changing character! Though this Common Chameleon (Chameleo chameleon) is popular for its changing its color, it is not easily seen here. But this animal has many other special modifications also, like mobile eyes, long extrudable tongue, prehensile tail. Its toes are found fused in into two groups - an adaptation for climbing up the tree with good grip.

Chemical wonder in Pharaoh's Serpent!

In 1960s during festivals an exciting firework was lit to the amazement of children. It is a small black tablet that gave out a snake-like thing amidst smoke, when it was lit. This black snake (Pharaoh's Snake, 'Paamboo maathirai' in Tamil) entertained children as it 'grew' out

Investigate this Toad Mystery!

I was wondering the other day at morning: what creature’s scat (animal dropping) could it be! It was black, shiny, smooth and of light weight in the shape of a capsule, lying on the garden. Could it be that of a snake or a bandicoot? I saw the scats each morning and was bewildered.

One day I crushed a scat into pieces with a stick: I found the shiny black heads of ants of various sizes in a brownish matrix! I was astonished. Could it be that of a toad?

Connecting the places where the trails of scats were found led me to the junk room where the toads usually lurk at daytime. Yes, those scats were those of Toads only (Bufo fowleri, ‘Theaurai’ in Tamil). Here in Tamil Nadu, there is a belief that if one kills a toad the person will be contracting the disease, Leprosy! I had tried to kill these toads: but I am often cheated by them. After an hour of beating and ‘killing,’ when I turn up to see the toad’s body it would have disappeared! Toads cannot be killed: they escape by playing dead. But they have to be beaten to pieces for that – as they attract snakes into the garden. Toads have been described in Puranic Tamil songs that they are seen even inside stones! They easily burrow into the sand and aestivate – to escape the unbearable hot and dry summer; their extra moist skin saves them from being dried up. They emerge out of the sand as soon as the monsoon starts.
This wonder toad camouflages to merge with the surrounding – with its brownish skin coloration!

A Hungry 'Black line'

At a winter morning a ’black line’ was seen climbing up a distant leafless tree. The line was about ten feet length. On seeing through binoculars the black line turned out to be a snake! Yes, it was a Black Rat snake that was climbing up the tree to catch and devour the little birds that were perching on its branches! This Black Rat snake is an excellent climber. A climbing wonder!

Swimming and Sleeping Snakes

In the recent rains invariably snakes were seen swimming on or swept along the flowing water of storm drains. They are washed away from their cryptic crevices by the flood water and transmigrated to a new habitat; they visit thus near human dwellings in rainy season.
In Winter snakes (like The Little Indian Snake) sleep under small rocks. It seems they don't want to get out in cold climate - indicating that they are cold-blooded. At early mornings, as the day warms up, they get out and go on hunting to appease their hunger. You could hear the preyed upon frog or rat squeak on being devoured by them! (Here a better example could be the Rat snake).
At full moon days, it is said that the snakes become romantic! And so both male and females can be seen at night-time of these days, increasing the probability of seeing a snake (or a pair).

Nature's selection of Plants and Animals in a Year

Pictures of Plants and Animals






NATURE selects and promotes only a certain type of plants or animals in a year. This phenomenon depends upon environmental conditions, such as local rainfall, weather, climate and the fertility of both the soil and the living things. In the past five years period it has been found in my South Indian backyard that in a given year only a type of wild flowering plant grows more in abundance dominating on other plants. But this dominating nature didn’t continue so in the next following year: another plant dominated! Likewise in animals, for example, the frogs, different varieties of them were promoted in a year like one of our common frog or tiger frog or tree frog. Similarly, within arthropods, spiders or scorpions (arachnids) and butterflies or bugs (insects) dominated. Another aspect was also noticed: in reptiles, one of these like either lizards or snakes was promoted to breed profusely in a year. The next year another CLASS of animal kingdom among Classes of animals or within their Families or Species dominated. Even disease producing bacteria or viruses are promoted in a similar manner. So, it can be deduced here that diseases affecting man are also ‘preferred and promoted’ by Nature each year! The best example was seen here in the year 2006, when Chikungunya disease affected many people. It was due to the promotion of an Arbo virus (alpha type 1) (and also its virus carrying mosquito, Aedes egyptii naturally)!