Multiple factors like more concretization of houses and roads, few plots having dense overgrowth, people learning to keep their surroundings clean, and finally adequate rainfall and moderate temperature over the last two years have contributed to a fall in snake population in urban areas of the district.Data available with the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital, the tertiary care hospital in the region which treats all venomous snake bites, show that the number of snakebite admissions to the hospital has come down by almost half over a span of two years.While the year 2016 saw 1,431 snakebite admissions, the numbers dropped to 761 in 2018, recording a 46% fall. In 2017, only 904 bites were recorded. However, the number of deaths due to snakebites which fell from 41 in 2016 to 18 deaths in 2017, again increased to 27 in 2018.The month of May has also found to be the riskiest month in terms of snakebites. The highest number of bites in 2018 occurred in May — 92. This was followed by September which recorded 85 bites and January which recorded 77 bites. “There does not seem to be a pattern to the bites. They seem to be high post rain and during winter,” dean of CMCH Dr B Ashokan said.Snake catcher N Santhosh Kumar said snake bites peak during summer and post-rain. “Snake’s skin is very sensitive and cannot take too much heat. When the earth becomes too hot and dry, and they can’t find shade in terms of trees or grass, they choose debris, unused godowns and houses. We find so many venomous snakes in houses at R S Puram. Summer is also the mating and hatching season for cobras, increasing their numbers,” Kumar said. “Post-rain is also dangerous, because drains wash many snakes from other areas into houses,” he added.The dean said 70% of the bites in the recent years have come from rural areas. “Most bites happen outside the urban areas. In urban areas people are more aware about how to deal with a snake sighting like calling the right people to catch it and snake population in urban areas has come down,” he said.Environmentalists agree that snake population has come down due to multiple factors. “People have begun to constantly remove and clean their surroundings inside and outside their houses and even vacant lands. Reptiles including snakes will never choose a habitat which is constantly disturbed,” environmentalist N I Jalaluddin, of Nature Conservation Society, said.“The good weather in the last two years has also contributed, because the moderate rainfall and temperature ensured that snakes in their pits did not have to search for warmer or colder habitats,” he added.Concretization of roads, houses and industrial waste in sewers have also led to fall in snake population, say wildlife experts. “Often snakes in urban areas could be found in sewers and drains, because they preferred the damp surface and found it perfect to hunt rats. But with lot of industrial and mixed waste getting into our sewers, many snakes avoid it. With most of our roads also getting concretised, snakes do not get much opportunity to come out of their pits and onto the roads,” environmentalist M Siva said.

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