Training for Snake Rescuers : Day -2

The second day of the training workshop for snake rescuers began with Soham showing the participants how to handle a venomous snake. Four experienced and regular snake rescuers came forward and took turns to capture and bag a cobra in groups of two. Both the groups managed to handle the snake well as well as bag it.

More groups were formed and in teams of two, they practiced catching and bagging  rat snakes. After every session of handling, the team received constructive feedback from the other participants and this helped the group arrive at some rules that should be followed religiously while handling any snake.  Most amateur snake handlers found it difficult to manage the snake as well as their enthusiasm but with a little bit of concentration and focus, they were able to perform the task without causing any damage to themselves or the snake.

Some of the other things that came up were the need to decide a course of action for any rescue and stick to it (except in situations where someone’s safety is at stake), taking one’s own time to catch and bag the snake, communicating effectively with the bagger, being aware of the presence of corners, people and other obstacles that may hinder the process.

Newly learnt technique being tried out by participants.

The next thing to be discussed was snake-bite management and this was done by giving six groups a situation wherein one of them had to be the victim of a snake-bite and the rest had to enact ways in which to administer first aid using things from a list that had a bizarre mix of objects. The groups did a great job and had fun with their presentations. Soham went on to tell the group about the most effective ways of carrying out first aid. There were several questions about the relevance of the ways in which snake-bites have been handled in their localities for a long time.

Those who had been rescuing snakes in and around Vidyanagar for a long time had a lot to contribute in the next session which was about the translocation of snakes. They talked about the nearby places where they normally release snakes in bulk and later put their heads together to figure out a way in which to minimize the damage caused through translocation.

The last session of the day was a discussion on the soon-to-be-ready manual for the snake rescuers of Vidyanagar. The participants gave their inputs on preparing a data collection form during any rescue.

The workshop ended with a vote of thanks by Dhaval Patel and the group seemed pleased with the two-day adventure! Thank you http://www.gerrymartin.in

Special thanks were conveyed to Shri Narayancharandas Swami of Vrajbhoomi Foundation for generous hospitality and providing infrastructural support.