The Farmers Friend, the Rat snake

An unfortunately named creature is the Rat snake. Its name speaks nothing of its allure and its
distinct character amongst the serpent tribe. Moreover its name is misleading to someone, for
whom snakes are as unknown as much as they are petrifying, will associate the Rat snakes
size with that of the puny rodent. In most regions of India, Rat snakes are the largest common
snakes one can find. The length of an adult snake often crosses a spectacular three metres,
which is the width of most country roadways and you will find that often that the snake is
recounted with amazement as one which covered the entire road as it slithered past. The other
diagnostic feature of this snake is its large eyes, spanning the width of its head, within which are
contained round black pupils with a striking shine. Also note the rugged black lines painted on
its lips which are somewhat suggestive of its willingness to bite.

A juvenile poses for a photo

The rat snake you will find is a rather hot tempered creature. It is a diurnal snake and when you
do come across it while its on its prowl its quick to hit the bushes and abscond, often
vehemently so. But when cornered the adult rat snake is a formidable opponent (especially if
you stumble upon it in your bathroom!). It inflates its throat and vocalizes a loud growl at its
aggressor, synchronized with its heaving breath. Any attempt of approach and it will fling itself at

its adversary open mouthed to sink in a bite. On writing this I remember this occasion when I
was attempting to remove a large and highly aggravated rat snake from a dormitory bathroom. I
blocked its strikes with a plastic bucket till it hurled itself towards me so strongly that the bucket
slipped from my hand and flew out of the bathroom, leaving me disarmed. And then immediately
in its acute irritation regurgitated and spat out a mutilated Tree frog on my shorts, as if
threatening me of a similar consequence.
A bite from a large rat snake can be painful and can leave behind lacerations but it has time and
again proved harmless. The folklore goes that the snake instead stores its venom in its tail, a
story which probably rose from the snakes tendency to use its tail in combat. When you are
faced with a rat snake in your house dont panic! Close the doors to your kitchen and bedroom
and leave the entrance wide open. And then with a long mop stick (or the like) gently guide the
snake to the doorway and you will find the serpent very co-operating.
The rat snake is at home in land, water and on trees, from where I (and possibly you) have had
the opportunity to have it fall squarely upon the shoulders. It occurs in many shades just like the
spectacled cobra. Speckled brown, dull olive, steel gray, wood brown, bright ochre and even jet
black. Although its known for its affinity for rodents, the serpents vast diet includes geckos,
garden lizards, bird eggs, small birds, frogs and other snakes. You may have witnessed a sigh
of relief from farmers after they have seen a rat snake slide across their paddy field knowing
that they will keep the loss of grain due to rodents in check.
Mention must be made of the vigilance and coy this snake exhibits. If you have ever come
across a keelback gradually working a toad down its throat, then you would know that you could
sit right by it and observe the scene as the snake will shed great indifference towards you as it
will be too involved in swallowing its meal. But have you witnessed the same case with the Rat
snake? On sensing you very many yards away it will abandon its prey and flee without second
thought. It is capable of raising itself about four feet into the air to look into the distance or to
reach up for something.

A rat snake rises to see the camera

In this light let me share an incident which brought me much amusement. One late afternoon I
was taking an English class of sorts for a colleague of mine. It was called an English class but
we would end up debating about whether it was English or Tamil which was better off as a
language. During this discussion we were seated on a cot in the common room of a dormitory
and we heard some mild knocks on the door. The first few times we exchanged looks turned
them down for the wind. Then there was the sharp metallic clang of the doors latch. After
hearing this, my colleague got up to open the door and he even said wait Im coming to the
anonymous visitor. At this point I felt that there was something slightly fishy about this whole
episode. The knocks on the door were not those which were consistent and confident but were
more like nudges on the door. I waited and watched for the mystery to unfold.
My colleague moved open the latch, pulled the door open and had the scare of his life. All I
could see from my side view was this. The door was opened , there was an audible thud on the
ground and then my colleague screamed Oh Mother and came running into the common
room horrified. Startled by his reaction I rushed to the doorway to see whatever it was which
had terrified him. Near the staircase I managed to get a glimpse of the tail of what must have
been a very large Rat snake which vanished around the building. What had happened
apparently was that the snake was trying to climb on the door (possibly trying to reach a gecko)
causing the noises we heard. When the door was opened by my unfortunate companion, the full

length of the gigantic Rat snake, which was on the door, lost balance and fell on him. The door
was bolted and my companion was sitting beside me on the cot. There was a long silence which
ensued at the end of which he gave an acute shudder from head to toe as if to tremble off the
unpleasant incident.
No description of the rat snake is complete without a mention of its mating dance. This
spectacle is often seen around the summer months in the campus. An ardent rat snake couple
show no squirms in overtly doing their romance. As their mid body and tail embrace tightly
around each other, the fore body of the two snakes rejoicefully leap and dance in the air making
their celebration a public display

Jan 2016

The dance of a fervent couple