The mere sight of a venomous or even non-venomous snake slithering towards you would make you instantly freeze in your tracks. Your initial response would be to attack it or scream and run for safety. In short, most of us have the tendency to kill any creature that has a long and limbless body and threatens our survival instinct.
A few snakes are really life-threatening. However, most are harmless snakes. Some like the hump-nosed viper or green viper have a bite which if not treated well can be potentially fatal to the victim. Conservationists claim that snakes support ecological balance and is a reliable destroyer of mice, insects and other creatures that are harmful to cultivations. Yet, most people kill them and justify what they have done by simply claiming that they have destroyed death lurking in grass, fissures, under pillows or any other place where snakes ensconce themselves. This is true unfortunately, even non-venomous snakes are killed in vain because of their resemblance to their dangerous cousins and due to ignorance.
For example, the hump-nosed viper is often identified as a dangerous viper and killed. Mapillas who live around houses are mistaken for deadly kraits(karavala) and are beaten to death. This is a matter of concern for conservationists because this process threatens the eco-balance, of which snakes are an integral part.
The cobra, which grows to about 1.5 metres in length, is easily identifiable by his dangerously beautiful hood and body with undefined white rings. If provoked, the cobra can make a lethal bite on a person who if untreated, would die within four hours. It often attacks when it is trampled, provoked or disturbed by man.
Many people are reluctant to kill the cobra as it is considered as a sanctified symbol due to popular Buddhist legends. Superstitions claim that the cobra, once attacked, becomes revengeful of the attacker. There is another popular belief that the frequent presence of a cobra around a house means the reincarnation of a member of that house who had died with great attachment for the household members.
A cobra usually moves around in garbage dumps, marshes, fissures on the ground or in any other place they can snuggle in. Anthills and cavities in unplastered walls are ideal hiding places. Very often, the cobra is found snuggling in corners and covered box-like objects in houses. This is common because a cobra is attracted to houses by the smell of frogs and mice which frequent many houses particularly at night. A high level of danger is posed to the householders because a cobra after mice, may be lurking somewhere in the house and may be trampled by somebody walking heedlessly.
The krait (karavala) is another highly venomous snake commonly seen around houses, gardens, in small spaces between the walls of two buildings, coconut trees and sometimes even under pillows. It is unarguably the second most poisonous snake in Sri Lanka and may sometimes account for unexplained deaths in a household. A marked trait of the krait bite is that it is hardly felt by the victim. A fully grown krait is around 700mm in length. They are of two types; Sri Lankan Krait (Mudu Karavala) and Indian Krait (Thel Karavala). The Mudu Karavala is usually black in colour with white rings while the Thel Karavala has an extremely glossy brown skin. Kraits usually come after smaller snakes and hide in cavities in the house. They tend to snuggle under mattresses, pillows, in cupboards and narrow corners; they dwell on coconut trees and in all kinds of cavities outside houses.
The krait is responsible for the majority of deaths caused by snake bites in areas of habitation as it mostly dwells in and around houses seeking smaller snakes and other creatures for prey. Most deaths occurring at night are ascribed to krait bites as they remain ensconced under pillows, bedsheets, or mattresses. It becomes active at night and when a sleeping person unknowingly presses hard on the snake, it bites the sleeper, injecting death into him/her.
