Wildlife of Richards Town 8
I am fortunate to live in Richards Town, a locality in Bangalore that has a good density of trees and relatively open spaces. The residents share this area with members of the animal kingdom on whose lives they have a direct impact. It is up to the residents to decide if this impact is to be positive or negative. The first step, of course, is to be aware of our wild residents. In this series, I present to you the wild residents of Richards Town.
A ‘bloodsucker’ in your backyard
How many of us realise that they might be a bloodsucker at large in our gardens? Don’t panic, this is just our Common Garden Lizard (Calotes versicolor) which most of us mistakenly call ‘chameleon’. During the breeding season the head, shoulders and parts of the foreleg of the males turns bright scarlet and this is how they have acquired this rather ‘derogatory’ name — Bloodsucker. The Chameleon is a totally different species, well-known for its ability to change colour to match its surroundings.
The Common Garden Lizard is the most common Agamid lizard in India. An Agamid is a family or group of lizards. The Agamids can be differentiated from other lizards by their teeth. In general appearance, the Agamids bear a close resemblance to the Iguana.
The Bloodsucker or Common Garden Lizard is widely distributed from the dry deserts to thick forests. In cities like Bangalore, it is found in gardens, hedges and scrub. I see one quite regularly from my verandah which overlooks a small patch of garden.
It is arboreal and diurnal in nature, which means that it has evolved to move on trees and is active during the day time. Not surprisingly it is an agile climber and can move with speed and dexterity when required. Most of the time we fail to notice it as it is a past master at making itself inconspicuous. It manages to do so by remaining immobile. Its colouration also helps it in blending into the background. When noticed it has a tendency to slide to the back of the branch on which it is sitting.
Males • They can grow up to a length of 490 mm
• They are territorial and maintain individual territories
• Commonly found in an elevated position from where it can see its territory and also be seen by an intruder
• They perform press-ups and nod their heads as a form of display, to both threaten rival males and impress females
• Very often the display is not enough to scare away a rival male. Then a brief but intense scuffle takes place. Both males stand on their hind legs and bite and wrestle each other till the loser turns and runs. The victor then proceeds to chase him out of his territory
Females
• They are considerably smaller than the males
• Lays soft-shelled eggs in holes in flower beds and other soft soil areas
• She digs these holes using only her forelimbs
• Each hole is approximately 8 to 10 centimetres deep. They are covered by scraping soil with the forelimbs and pressing it down with the snout. They are indistinguishable from the surroundings
• The eggs, each clutch numbering 11 to 23, are left in these holes to incubate
• The period of incubation is dependent on temperature and can vary between 30 to 50 days
The Bloodsucker is a great help in maintaining the health of your garden plants as it feeds mainly on insects and thus keeps the pest population under control. Ants are another favourite and together with other insects form a majority of its diet. Occasionally it breaks the monotony of its diet by taking small birds, nestlings, frogs and other small animals. Studies have shown that it sometimes resorts to cannibalism, though such behaviour is quite rare.
The next time you pass a garden, do stop to take a good look at the various branches and stalks, glance up at any wall or branch and you just might come face to face with the Bloodsucker and don’t be afraid as he is harmless unless, of course, you happen to be a rival male!
Spectacled Cobra, not all fearsome
Among all the animals, snakes fascinate us the most. The very word ‘snake’ causes a rush of emotions, unfortunately mostly negative. This is mostly because we do not know much about them and thus misunderstand and fear them. There are over 270 different species of snakes in India most of which are harmless to humans. However, four species are venomous and one of them is the Cobra.
The Cobra has made itself at home in Bengaluru. They are usually found in agricultural fields and fallow areas on the periphery of the city but with the unprecedented growth of our city, they are being increasingly assimilated into our urban environment. This is not necessarily a bad thing — the feeding habits of the cobra are actually a benefit to humans, as it puts a check on disease-carrying rodents, found in sewers and underground drains.
There are five different species of Cobras found in India. They are the Spectacled Cobra Naja naja, Monocled Cobra Naja kaouthia, Andaman Cobra Naja sagittifera , Central Asian Cobra Naja oxiana and the King Cobra Ophiophagus Hannah.
The Spectacled Cobra Naja naja the most common of all found throughout the Indian mainland excluding the Northeastern States. It is found from sea level up to two thousand meters.
Description: It has two circular patterns on the back of its hood which are connected by a curved line, evoking the image of spectacles and hence its name ‘Spectacled Cobra ‘. It is found in various shades of brown, yellow, grey and black. Their colour is extremely variable they are found in various habitat types from plains, jungles, open fields and also areas heavily populated by man.
Commonly found: It is active both during the day and during the night. It is a good swimmer and is commonly seen in fields, near streams, piles of rocks, trees, granaries, grain shops, sewers and underground drains. It very often lives in rat holes and termite mounds.
Characteristics: It is a shy snake but extremely fast and alert. It has a characteristic threat display, when alarmed it raises its frontal body and spreads its hood. This is a warning to withdraw and leave it alone. If disturbed further it will hiss and strike.
Its food comprises rodents (rats and mice) toads, frogs, birds and other snakes. Its venom is neurotoxic, that is it affects the nervous system. The venom acts on the synaptic gaps of the nerves causing paralysis of the muscles leading to respiratory failure or cardiac arrest. The venom components include certain enzymes that cause the breakdown of cells which increases the spread of the venom. Symptoms can begin from fifteen minutes to two hours after the bite and can be fatal in less than an hour. Though the Cobra is responsible for a large number of snakebite cases only a small percentage are actually fatal as it does not always inject a fatal dose of venom.
The female lays about 12 to 30 eggs, usually in rat holes or termite mounds and these hatch after sixty days. Eggs are usually laid between March and July. The female will remain with the eggs till they hatch. The young when hatched are exact replicas of the parents and have fully functional venom glands. The newborn cobras are between 10 to 12 inches in length, the average length for adults is 39 inches with the longest recorded at 87 inches.
The Spectacled Cobra has found its way into Hindu mythology, folklore and legends. Lord Shiva is often portrayed with a protective cobra coiled around his neck. Lord Vishnu is usually represented as resting on the coiled body of Sheshnag, a snake deity with a number of cobra heads. Some of the Cobra legends are as follows:
1. Cobras can change form
This myth is well represented in art and literature. The common Hindu word “Naga” refers to supernatural beings that lived in water and could change into cobras or humans.
2. Killing a Cobra brings bad luck
In Sri Lanka and India, people believe that killing a cobra will bring bad luck. This belief comes from religious influences, as some Hindus believe that the cobra is the god Shiva reincarnated. This belief goes back to ancient times when Hindus were forbidden to kill cobras as they believed that supernatural beings could take the form of one of these large serpents.
3. Cobras Seek Revenge
In India, there is a belief that if someone kills a king cobra, the cobra’s mate will find the person and kill him. There is no evidence that cobras actually seek revenge, but because of thousands of deaths every year due to Cobra bites, some have come to believe this myth.
It is true that more than 10,000 deaths occur due to cobra bites every year. But that is much less than the number of people who die in road accidents every year which is about 1,35,000, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
I wrote this series for our neighbourhood newspaper ‘In & Around Richard’s Town’. While they were written almost ten years ago they still remain relevant today.
