In the second instalment of the snakes episode TOTT slithers headfirst into the Indian snake scene with 3 super guests . Sara Mohan discovers Irulas and their brain-stumping snake tracking skills. Snake venom and it’s many confounding properties. Snakebite and some scary-as-hell stats. 

Gerry Martin gets into the nitty gritty of snake research - venom, behaviour; oh and also snake heartbeat (happy squeal)! 

Gnaneswar brings firsthand reports on snake bite stories, peoples’ attitudes and the dizzying diversity of snakes in India. 

Aaaannnd a helluva snake walk with Kali, as he magically tracks and catches snakes (almost conjuring them outta thin air) in a paddy field in suburban chennai.


SHOW NOTES:
Film: A survival guide to the Big 4

Snake bite related papers/articles:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286712156_Venom_antivenom_production_and_the_medically_important_snakes_of_India

https://science.thewire.in/health/snakebites-anti-venom-irula-cooperative-cobra-krait-viper-romulus-whitaker/

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/at-1-2-million-india-has-highest-number-of-snakebites-in-the-world-heres-why-its-dangerous-7442747/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330467543_Prevention_is_better_than_cure_Prevention_is_better_than_cure_snakebite_education_in_India/link/5f417c5a92851cd3021a8d9e/download

https://theprint.in/science/snake-antivenom-in-india-ineffective-in-treating-bites-from-most-species-study-finds/331923/

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(17)31751-8/fulltext

Snake Radio Telemetry:
https://india.mongabay.com/2021/03/radio-telemetry-signals-new-ways-to-study-snakes/

https://www.instagram.com/tigressontuktuk/?hl=en
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCth7fXVB3c1pRvz_ET8MrWg

Sara Mohan takes a trip to Hunsur (near Mysore, Karnataka) to meet world-renowned snake man Gerry Martin.  In his cosy office, surrounded by tanks and tanks of snakes, Gerry unravels the mysterious world of serpents coil by marvellous coil.
Snake origin stories, snake lengths (sorry to break it to ya, but the length of your…SNAKE is irrelevant), venom and fangs, the BIG 4, kissing king cobras , what NOT to do around snakes and why we’d have no food if snakes were to disappear...
This is the first instalment of a two-part story on these enigmatic creatures, told in Gerry’s inimitable, no-nonsense, giggle-inducing style.


SHOW NOTES:

Snake Evolution:
https://www.discoverwildlife.com/news/new-findings-reveal-the-origins-of-modern-day-snakes/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/mother-all-snakes-was-surprisingly-modern-180955349/

 Who is the longest of them all?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_snakes

Iranian Spider-tailed Viper:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFjoqyVRmOU

Eyelash Viper:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axJalwdWPmI&feature=emb_imp_woyt

How flying snakes fly?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpW5aWMxrEw

 http://www.indiansnakes.org/mobileapp

https://www.instagram.com/tigressontuktuk/?hl=en
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCth7fXVB3c1pRvz_ET8MrWg

How far would you go to see really cool wildlife??
You don’t need to go anywhere. Simply take a peek outside your window or walk down your street!
Vena Kapoor unpacks wildlife of the concrete jungle and chats to Sara Mohan about plants for pollinators, weeds and their wonders,  the perils of bird feeders, potter wasp pheromones, leaf-cutter bees and their magic carpet leaves, pigeons aka pests and other delightful revelations about the the many cool creatures that run wild in our cities.

 
Articles & Papers on Urban Wildlife:

(Co- Authored by Vena Kapoor)
https://sustain.round.glass/habitat/nature-city-walls/
https://sustain.round.glass/urban-jungle/wild-city-pavements/

Other resources:
The Green, green grass of home:
https://sustain.round.glass/urban-jungle/garden-grass/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257342677_Why_garden_for_wildlife_Social_and_ecological_drivers_Motivations_and_barriers_for_biodiversity_management_in_residential_landscapes
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341228869_Good_and_Bad_Urban_Wildlife
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/256669012_Urban_wildlife_research_Past_present_and_future
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248200323_Does_variation_in_garden_characteristics_influence_conservation_of_birds_in_suburbia
https://india.wcs.org/Newsroom/Blog/ID/14209/Small-or-Big-Your-Home-Garden-Has-the-Potential-to-Be-a-Refuge-for-Urban-Wildlife

Bird Feeders:
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-58346043
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/29469598_Feeding_birds_in_our_towns_and_cities_A_global_research_opportunity

https://www.instagram.com/tigressontuktuk/?hl=en
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCth7fXVB3c1pRvz_ET8MrWg

Crabs who live like hermits. Shells that look like sunsets. Stars that dress up in feathers. The beach is is a wondrous place. But how well do you know this familiar space and all its denizens? Probably not too well. TOTT catches up with  the fondly and famously named  Ocean's 6 for a seaside adventure in Chennai; it’ll leave you a little wiser about the magic land that is the ‘inter-tidal’.



 Links:
Coastal Biodiversity Guide on iNaturalist:  https://www.inaturalist.org/guides/13428

Coastal Biodiversity Pocket guide+Fun posters+Beach Bingo:
https://onedrive.live.com/?authkey=%21AJ2JkCClzvCn-6k&id=4A3AFC730D6873%216740&cid=004A3AFC730D6873

Follow MNS/ YNN:  @madrasnaturalists / @ynnchennai

Hermit Crab shell swap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1dnocPQXDQ
Swimming feather star: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRej1VKDgcE

Follow the show on Instagram and Twitter @tigressontuktuk

iNaturalist app download:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.inaturalist.android&hl=en_IN&gl=US

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/inaturalist/id421397028

https://www.instagram.com/tigressontuktuk/?hl=en
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCth7fXVB3c1pRvz_ET8MrWg

Why a Tigress? And what in the world is she doing on a Tuktuk? 
Host, Sara Mohan explains!

https://www.instagram.com/tigressontuktuk/?hl=en
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCth7fXVB3c1pRvz_ET8MrWg

Tigress on tuk-tuk meets the world! What is this show about? How was it born? Who is it for?
Host, Sara Mohan tells you everything.

https://www.instagram.com/tigressontuktuk/?hl=en
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCth7fXVB3c1pRvz_ET8MrWg