The Russell’s viper was long thought to be nearly extinct in Bangladesh, where it is known as chandra bora, until about a decade ago. Wildlife biologists were unaware of the Russell viper’s (Daboia russelii) prevalence until 2013, even though the snake has been recorded in the region for a century. But its current comeback represents a grave danger to the local people’s lives. The viper is mostly seen in Bangladesh during the rice harvesting season. This year, the incidents of Russell’s vipers’ insurgence and snakebites came to the forefront during the months of May and June, which is the country’s most important rice harvesting season of the Boro crop. Though there is no exact figure of the death toll due to Russell’s vipers’ bites in the country, people are terrified of the snake across the country, especially those who work in agricultural fields. Consequently, when any snake is spotted, locals rush to kill it rather than trying to check if it is venomous or not. A study linked the snake’s insurgence with the intensified cropping pattern, which increased the number of rats — the snake’s primary food — in the field. This ensured an advantage that may have helped in the population increase of the snake, but it is hard to pinpoint the precise cause of this population boom in Bangladesh. According to the study, only nine districts — Dinajpur, Chapai Nawabganj, Rajshahi, Naogaon, Natore, Pabna, Rajbari, Chuadanga and Patuakhali — have recently reported sightings of Russell’s vipers, while earlier…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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