Animal Planet shines light on Snake Squad
The expanding cities have intensified human-snake conflict like never before. As cities grow both vertically and horizontally, residential complexes have risen where once there was wilderness and wildlife. Hurt and homeless, snakes are turning up everywhere homes, schools, offices, temples and even refrigerators! Animal Planet’s new 10-part series Snake Squad, which premiers on August 15 at 9:00 pm focuses on unsung heroes of the urban landscapes who are dedicating their lives to mitigating human-snake conflict and saving both people from snakes and snakes from people.
- Snake Squad is produced for Animal Planet by Optimum Television and is directed by Upma Bhatnagar, produced by Manoj Narain, written by Siddhvinayak Bhatnagar, edited by Mike Dunne with music by Alex Paton, Harshan Radhakrishnan, Cliff D’souza & Elvis Lobo
Snakes – an integral part of India
No civilization, country or society in the world is as inseparably linked to snakes as India has been. Snakes are friends, foe and God, and loved, feared, hated and worshipped in equal measures. They, in brief, are an integral part of India culturally, economically and mythologically! On the other hand, they are also the cause of the worst man vs wild-animal conflict in the world. Conservative estimates put the human death toll of snakebites at 50,000 every year. Many experts and field workers, however, feel that the real number could be double that. Close to half a million human lives get destroyed through long-term disabilities. The casualties on the snakes’ side is even worse.
The Snake Squad
Traditional snake charmers have disappeared from modern India. Enter the young Snake Squad, a group of young men and women, often highly qualified and educated, driven by a passion for wildlife. They are dedicating their lives to mitigating this conflict and saving both people from snakes and snakes from people. Every major city in India has its own emerging, young squad. It has turned into a phenomenon. These squads are saving hundreds of thousands lives year after year.
Members of Snake Squad
Alex Carpenter, 27, the Host, Foreigner Snake Catcher, Goa
Aaron Fernandes, 34, The Goan Spirit, Goa
Soham Mukherjee, 34, Crocodile Whisperer, Ahmedabad
Shravan Krishnan, 27, The Real Super Hero, Chennai
Gargi Vijayaraghvan, 25, The Baby-Faced Do-Gooder, Mumbai:
Lynette D’souza, 42, Guts Galore, Mumbai
Nick Casewell, The Venom Expert, United Kingdom:
Jose Louise, 40, The Champion, from Kerala, Delhi
