A radio telemetry project to study the behaviour of Russell’s vipers, a venomous variety accounting for the highest number of snake bites in India, recently concluded in rural parts of Hunsur taluk in Mysuru district.
The project taken up jointly by Humane Society International (HSI)/India, an animal protection organisation, and Liana Trust, an NGO engaged in conservation in rural areas, involved surgical insertions of radio transmitters in 22 Russell’s vipers found in agricultural landscape of Hunsur taluk.
“We followed them for a period of three years to understand their behaviour better. The study was aimed at understanding their life cycle, their range (the distance of its movements), and other aspects,” Sumanth Bindumadhav, director, Wildlife Department, HSI/India, told The Hindu.
