St Aloysius (Deemed to be University), Mangaluru, supports snake conservation and public awareness through two connected efforts: the educational book Snakes of Mysore, co-sponsored by the University and Mr Kiran Vati K of its Department of Zoology, and the Sarpamithra snake-awareness campaign run by the Adavi Alert Foundation. Both set out to replace fear and folklore with scientifically accurate knowledge about the ecological role snakes play, how to prevent snakebites, and how people and snakes can safely share the same landscape.

The University's involvement in this work is led by its Department of Zoology. The University and Mr Kiran Vati K, an assistant professor in the department, co-sponsored Snakes of Mysore, and he is a member of the conservation team that delivers the Sarpamithra sessions, including a recent programme for more than 100 students at P. Satisha Pai Government First Grade College, Mangaluru, on 26 March 2026.

• The book, Snakes of Mysore, is an educational publication by the Adavi Alert Foundation, co-sponsored by St Aloysius (Deemed to be University) and Mr Kiran Vati K of its Department of Zoology.
• The campaign, Sarpamithra, is a snake-awareness campaign that the Adavi Alert Foundation runs in Mangaluru and other parts of Karnataka.
• A recent programme was held on 26 March 2026 at P. Satisha Pai Government First Grade College, Mangaluru, and reached more than 100 students.
• The sessions cover snake identification, snakebite prevention, scientifically accurate first aid, and safe coexistence, while dispelling common myths.
• The partner organisation is the Adavi Alert Foundation, which also worked with the University on the electric patrol bikes for Bandipur Tiger Reserve.

Why snake awareness matters

Snakebite is one of the world's most neglected public-health problems. The World Health Organization estimates that about 5.4 million people are bitten by snakes every year, that between 1.8 and 2.7 million of those bites cause envenoming, and that between 81,410 and 137,880 people die annually, with around three times as many left with amputations or permanent disabilities. India bears the largest share of that burden. A nationally representative study — the Million Death Study, published in eLife and cited by the WHO — estimated about 1.2 million snakebite deaths in India between 2000 and 2019, an average of roughly 58,000 a year, which is close to half of the global total. In November 2024, the Union Health Ministry issued directives asking all States and Union Territories to classify snakebites as a notifiable disease.

Much of that toll is preventable. It is driven less by the snakes themselves than by delay, fear, and harmful folk remedies applied before a patient reaches hospital. Of more than 3,000 snake species worldwide, only around 600 are venomous, and far fewer still are dangerous to people; most snakes are harmless, and most bites happen when a snake is stepped on, cornered, or handled. Accurate public knowledge, therefore, is a public-health measure as much as a conservation one, and that is what makes a campaign like Sarpamithra worth a university's support.

Common snakes of coastal Karnataka

Coastal Karnataka is home to many snake species, yet only a small number are a serious threat to people. A large part of snake awareness is simply learning to tell the dangerous species apart from the harmless ones, because most snakes found near homes and farms are killed by mistake, out of fear, or because a harmless species has been confused with a venomous one. It also helps to use the right word: snakes are venomous, not poisonous, because they inject venom through a bite, whereas a poison is something that harms when it is eaten or touched.

The venomous species to know: the "Big Four"

Across India, most serious and fatal snakebites are caused by four species known collectively as the "Big Four": the spectacled cobra, the common krait, Russell's viper, and the saw-scaled viper. The cobra and the krait are elapids, and their venom is mainly neurotoxic: it acts on the nervous system, and a serious bite can cause muscle weakness and difficulty breathing. Russell's viper and the saw-scaled viper are vipers, and their venom is largely haemotoxic, acting on the blood and tissues to cause swelling, bruising, bleeding, tissue damage and, in severe cases, kidney injury. These snakes deliver venom through hollow fangs, and they can control how much they release, which is why not every bite from a venomous snake injects venom — some are "dry bites". Even so, a bite from any of the Big Four should be treated as a medical emergency that needs hospital care.

The harmless snakes people often mistake for dangerous ones

Many of the snakes people meet around Mangaluru are completely harmless, and several are killed only because they resemble a venomous species. The Indian rat snake, a large, fast, non-venomous snake that feeds on rodents, is one of the most common snakes around homes and fields, and it is frequently mistaken for a cobra. The small, harmless common wolf snake is often killed because its markings resemble those of the venomous common krait. Other non-venomous snakes of the region include the checkered keelback, usually found near water bodies, the sand boa, and the Indian rock python, a large constrictor that is non-venomous. Learning to recognise these common species protects both people, who lose their fear of a snake that is not venomous, and the snakes, which are valuable natural pest controllers.

Beyond the Big Four, the forests of the Western Ghats inland from the coast shelter other snakes, such as the Malabar pit viper, and venomous sea snakes live in the waters off the Karnataka coast. In India, snakes are protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, so killing one is not only unnecessary but an offence under the Act.

Myths and facts about snakes

Fear of snakes is kept alive by myths, and correcting them is one of the campaign's main aims. Snakes do not drink milk; they are reptiles, not mammals, and forcing milk on a captured snake, as sometimes happens during festivals, harms the animal. Snakes do not chase people to take revenge, and they have no memory of a person who has wronged them; a snake that appears to follow someone is almost always trying to reach cover in the same direction. A cobra raising its hood is defending itself, not preparing to attack without reason. Most snakes would rather flee than confront a human, and they bite in self-defence only when they are surprised or handled. Perhaps most importantly, killing snakes does not make a home safer over time, because it removes the natural check on the rats and mice that draw snakes to a building in the first place.

What the Sarpamithra campaign teaches

Sarpamithra is a dedicated snake-awareness campaign that the Adavi Alert Foundation runs in Mangaluru and other parts of Karnataka. Its sessions are a form of community education, giving students and the public practical, science-based guidance on how to avoid bites, how to react calmly to a snake encounter, and how to respond correctly if a bite occurs. The emphasis throughout is on prevention and coexistence rather than fear.

Preventing snakebites

Most bites can be avoided with a few simple precautions. Snakes turn up wherever their prey is — in forests and grasslands, near water, and around homes where rats and mice gather — so the campaign encourages people to clear away rubbish, store grain securely, and remove anything that attracts or shelters rodents. It also advises against putting bare hands or feet into woodpiles, holes, dense grass, or anywhere that cannot be seen clearly, because most bites occur on the hands, feet, and lower legs. A few habits give real protection: wearing covered footwear such as boots and long trousers in fields or undergrowth, using a torch after dark, keeping grass and bushes near the house trimmed, and, in high-risk rural areas, sleeping on a raised bed or under a well-tucked mosquito net.

What to do if you meet a snake

If a snake is encountered, the safest response is to remain calm, avoid sudden movements, and give the animal a wide berth, well beyond its striking range, so that it can move away, which it usually will. There is no need to panic, because most snakes want to escape rather than confront a person. People are urged not to try to catch, corner, or kill the snake, since most bites happen exactly when someone attempts to handle or attack it. Instead, they should contact the Adavi Alert Foundation, another trained local rescuer, or the Forest Department; a trained responder can then remove and release the snake safely.

First aid if someone is bitten

The campaign teaches the first-aid response recognised by health authorities. The person should be kept calm and as still as possible. The bitten limb should be immobilised, and any rings or tight clothing removed. The patient should then be taken to hospital as quickly as possible, because prompt medical treatment — including antivenom when it is medically indicated — saves lives. The campaign warns clearly against the traditional practices that make outcomes worse, such as tying a tourniquet, cutting the wound, trying to suck out the venom, or applying ice or herbal remedies. Every bite should be treated as a potential emergency, because in the first minutes a person cannot tell a dry bite from a bite that has injected venom, and reaching hospital without delay is what matters most.

The book: Snakes of Mysore

Snakes of Mysore was created to close the knowledge gap that surrounds snakes. It sets out scientifically accurate information on the snake species of the Mysore region, their ecological importance, the prevention of snakebites, recognised first-aid measures, and the case for coexistence rather than killing. St Aloysius (Deemed to be University) and Mr Kiran Vati K, an assistant professor in its Department of Zoology, served as co-sponsors of the book. Copies have since been donated to college libraries, including the library of P. Satisha Pai Government First Grade College, so that the book remains available to students as a lasting reference.

The programme at P. Satisha Pai Government First Grade College

One of the campaign's recent milestones was an awareness programme held at P. Satisha Pai Government First Grade College, Mangaluru, on 26 March 2026, where more than 100 students took part in an interactive session led by Pavan Joshi, founder of the Adavi Alert Foundation, together with Mr Kiran Vati K and Nikhil Paul of Outdoor Medics. The session combined awareness talks with a discussion of the snakes people commonly encounter in the region, the distribution of snakebite-awareness posters to be displayed across the campus, and the donation of Snakes of Mysore to the college library. Mr Kiran Vati K's participation reflects the Department of Zoology's continuing role in community-based conservation.

Why snakes matter to the ecosystem

Snakes are not a nuisance to be removed from the landscape; they are an essential part of it and a valued part of India's wildlife. By preying on rats and mice, they protect stored grain and standing crops and help control disease-carrying rodents, making them quiet allies of farmers and households alike. They are, in turn, prey for birds of prey, mongooses, and other animals, so they sit in the middle of a food web that keeps the wider environment in balance. A healthy snake population is a sign of a healthy ecosystem, and removing snakes tends to backfire, because the rodent populations they once controlled increase once the snakes are gone. Protecting snakes, rather than killing them out of fear, supports both biodiversity and agriculture.

The University's wider conservation work

For St Aloysius, backing snake awareness forms part of the Department of Zoology's broader conservation work, which includes the annual Campus Bird Count, the campus biodiversity surveys, and the 2024 partnership that put electric patrol bikes into service at Bandipur Tiger Reserve, also with the Adavi Alert Foundation. For students in zoology and environmental science, outreach like this is one of the ways they learn conservation in practice, by carrying accurate science out of the classroom and into the community.

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