Snakes are considered by many as perhaps the most dreadful of all animals that co-inhabit our planet. Fear about snakes prevails due to the total ignorance about these graceful, agile and useful creatures. In India, snakes are part of our mythology, yet, first reaction on seeing a snake is panic, fear and thought to exterminate the species. Non-poisonous snakes do not pose any major problems for humans besides fear and sometimes being pests. Lack of basic knowledge about snakes, leads to `fear of the unknown' and then panic, which further leads to disastrous results.
Snakes, however, play important environmental roles in the fragile ecosystems and can play a very important role in agriculture. They control the population of harmful rodents and pests, thus helping people. Though sometimes dangerous, snakes can be useful, and, as any living creature, they have the right to exist.
About Indian Snakes There are about 255 species of snakes in India, of which about 52 are venomous and only four pose threat to human beings, as they are found in the vicinity of human settlements, especially in rural areas which are agricultural and have rats in abundance. The four venomous snakes are called Big Four - Cobra, Common Krait, Russell's Viper and Saw Scaled Viper.
