A venomous Russell's viper made its nest in a hut beside a pond in Chapainawabganj and gave birth to 32 young. The young snakes came out once they had grown a little. The pond owner saw the snakes on Monday morning (1 May), and local people then killed the viper and its young after about an hour's effort and buried them.

The incident happened at around 10am on Monday at Balugram in Baliadanga union of Sadar upazila. Md Mukter Hossain, owner of the pond and the hut, gave the information.

Tanmoy Acharya, wildlife and biodiversity conservation officer of the Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division of the district Forest Department, confirmed that the snakes were Russell's vipers.

"I have been farming fish in this pond for about eight years and had never seen this kind of snake before. This morning I was frightened to suddenly see so many snakes together. With the help of local residents, all the snakes were killed after about an hour's effort. I dug a hole beside the pond and buried them," pond owner Mukter Hossain said.

Wildlife and biodiversity conservation officer Tanmoy Acharya said snakes usually hatch their young from eggs, but the Russell's viper is an exception. The country's most venomous snake gives birth to live young, and can have up to 40 at a time.

Chapainawabganj Civil Surgeon Dr SM Mahmudur Rashid said residents of areas where snakes are common must move about carefully. People should also be made aware that after a snakebite they should go quickly to the nearest hospital instead of relying on traditional healers' charms. Because the Russell's viper is highly venomous, a person bitten has very little time and must be brought to hospital as quickly as possible, he said.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.