Udupi: Malabar Pit Viper , a beautiful and interesting species of snakes, is found only in the Western Ghats. It’s special because of its unique capacity to change its colour, a strategy used by certain species to give them a survival advantage since it confuses predators.However, this scares farmers who kill this snake in large numbers. To create awareness about the species, Gururaj Sanil, a professional snake-catcher and social worker from Udupi, and his friend cinematographer Prashanth Sagar have done a documentary on Trimeresurus malabaricus, a mildly venomous creature.Sagar said, “I did the documentary due to my personal interest. I once went to my friend's place and found that this snake is common in that region. I started collecting information about it and identified it as Malabar Pit Viper through Gururaj Sanil’s book ‘Havu Navu’.”“It’s a rare species in different shades of grey, azure green, brown, yellow and a rusty chocolate colour. It does not lay egg but instead gives birth to babies. It’s active at night and during the mornings, it looks lethargic and stays without moving. Until someone hurts it, it doesn’t bite. It’s our responsibility to protect it. I uploaded the documentary to YouTube and within 24 hours, more than 700 people viewed it. It took us three days to do the documentary,” he added.Sanil said, “I’m happy with the documentary as it gives clear information about the Malabar Pit Viper. No one dies due to this snake bite. Immediate and proper treatment can save a victim. It’s found near its prey, especially near water, rocks, roots of trees, branches and twigs. It is very difficult to spot during the day. People must understand that it kills deadly insects and animals. People are scared of it and kill it but this should be stopped."

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