Nigel Marven, in the show Deadliest Snakes With Nigel Marven that airs on Animal Planet at 9 pm, talks to SHAlINI SAKSENA about why he chose to do the series, the deadliest snake he has ever come across in India and the precautions one should take while tackling them
The reason why you chose to do a series on snakes in India.
I always love coming to India, you have some wonderful wildlife and of course some extraordinarily dangerous but also some very beautiful venomous snakes. I had always wanted to make a film about the venomous snakes of India and this was my chance. Whenever we do the top 10 deadliest snakes countdown, even though I know a lot about snakes, it’s always interesting to speak to the experts and find out what their opinions. The list is my own list of course, other people would have different ideas, but it was great to see all of these wonderful snakes in India.
The most dangerous animal you have tackled so farIJ
Well, my most dangerous encounter was the one with the bull shark in the Bahamas, it was in the Discovery Channel show called Anatomy Of A Shark Bite. A man called Eric Ritter got over 60 cm of his calf bitten by a bull shark. Eric got fissure along his leg as the shark just bit him. I’ll never forget that one bite; it was like you or I biting into a watermelon. The calf just disappeared and he was in intensive care for four months, but the interesting thing there even though there was 50 square metres of blood in the water when we jumped in to pull him out. The sharks swam away so it wasn’t like a feeding frenzy. So, it’s a myth that there is a feeding frenzy if sharks smell our blood.
Any animal that you would not want to tackle. WhyIJ
What scares me the most are the most dangerous animals on earth mosquitoes. So I try to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes because of the terrible diseases that they can transmit. I encounter many dangerous animals, but I’m also in places where there are mosquitoes and they are the most dangerous animals of all really. They kill more people than any other animal. So it’s the smaller parasites and things that I don’t like. I would not like to be bitten by a tick and get lyme’s disease. I would tackle most animals but I would try to avoid mosquitoes and blood sucking parasites if I can.
The strangest myth you came across in the series related to snakesIJ
There were no myths about snakes in India. But there was a myth about the Milos Viper on the island of Milos, one of the Greek islands. The local people believed that it could bite through its tail. Snake experts told me that even the educated Greek people thought that the snake could do that. Second, these snakes left the island and went to the sea to mate with sea snakes.
The deadliest snake you have come across.
It is the Anaconda. They are very fit and very beautiful and they are semi-aquatic. They are so bulky that they need the water to support their weight. Their eyes are on the top of their head so they can ambush from the water. I met an Anaconda in Columbia and that’s got millions of viewers on Animal Planet and over a million hits on YouTube — I was very, very lucky to see an Anaconda swallowing a deer. So I have got a great affection for Anacondas.
What are the things one should keep in mind while tackling a poisonous snakeIJ
You should never try to catch a snake with your bare hands. You should just use a long stick and try to push it into a dustbin or something, but never try to catch it with your bare hands. It’s best to call in a local expert if you know of one. So, I went on a call out with a guy called Jerry from Goa and he has been in the episode on Animal Planet. He is an expert and gets called out if people have a King Cobra or other venomous snakes. All over India, now there are companies or people that will help move snakes back into the forest if they come into your house. You should really not touch a snake if you can help.
What are the mistakes the people make while handling a deadly snake and get bittenIJ
If you bitten by a snake, the first thing you should do is put a pressure bandage above the bite and that stops the venom to travel through the blood system. Venom travels through the lymph system. So put a pressure bandage above the bite, it stops the venom moving around through the body, and then you should get to hospital as quickly as possible. If there is any chance to sort of getting a photo of the snake or at least remembering what it looks like then it will help the doctors know what snake has bitten you. Sometimes snakes bite and they don’t inject any venom. So you shouldn’t panic. Maybe you have been bitten by a non-venomous snake or it’s a dry bite. But the best advice is to go to hospital and you should never ever cut or suck a wound, try to suck the venom out or cut the venom out.
In the series Dangerous Snakes with Nigel Marven, in one of the episodes, I did go to a Medical conference and they demonstrated how a pressure bandage should be used. I would recommend everyone who works with snakes to carry a pressure bandage with them and you can find out on the internet how to put it on properly.
What is your pick of the most deadly snake in IndiaIJ WhyIJ
India has a huge variety of Kraits, Cobras and Pit vipers. I’m pretty sure that the most dangerous, the top three are the ones that anyone would choose. However, I would put Russell’s Viper on the No 1 in the list of deadliest snakes in India. It is one killer and is common throughout much of India and in particular the hedge rows and field edges of Tamil Nadu. Mostly nocturnal, it is an ambush predator relying on its exceptional camouflage to avoid detection. It often stands its ground when approached and is frequently stepped on. The Russell’s is armed with sitelittic venom, a complex toxin which can cause catastrophic cell breakdown, hemorrhaging and loss of the blood’s vital clotting agents. Its bite is excruciatingly painful.
How much should we fear a snakeIJ
It is most important to understand that with dangerous animals one needs to take calculated risks. I’ve handled hundreds of cobras and I’m very confident but I still always treat them with respect. Even though I’m talking to camera when on holding them I’m watching them out of the corner of my eye and try to predict their behaviour and I obviously never hurt them and try and make sure they are as relaxed as possible. You do have to watch out because they’re of course wild animals and they can strike very fast. So, I would say that more than fear, it is important that we respect the beautiful breed.
You are a naturalist and wildlife television presenter, producer and author. How did this happenIJ
As a child, I was never interested in train sets or toy cars, I always used to have stick insects that walked along the washing line and my parents thought that I would grow out of that. I like unusual animals and I love snakes because of their colours and their amazing strategies for survive. With wildlife filmmaking, I like all of the parts of the process. I like presenting, but I also like being the painter, not just the paint. I like producing my own shows as well because then you can really get your message across. So, I like going into the world to find the animals.