Ropar Wildlife Division, Department of Forests and Wildlife Preservation, Punjab conducted a workshop for the residents of ATS Mohali. After a series of snake sighting and potential life-threatening incidences, this workshop is expected to prove to be a ray of hope for the dwellers to act appropriately and not panic in such dire situation. The 2-hour long workshop was held on 11 July 2021 at the Club House of ATS, Mohali was conducted by the wildlife experts where they explained the reasons of reptile and snake sighting¸ suitable actions to be taken and strategies and ways to avoid such encounters.Dr Monika Yadav, IFS, DFO, Wildlife Ropar said that she received a request for guidance and help and she feels honoured to help the citizens with the best of the resources. Dr Yadav also emphasised that snakes are not the enemies of the mankind; it’s the mankind who misunderstands them. People are unaware of reptile-behaviour and see them as venomous creatures with maleficent intentions always in the look-out for bite humans or swallow their pets, which, in fact is a highly conditioned myth. She said that with or without snake-sighting, we should be well-aware of our surroundings as well as animal behaviour because whether we want or not, we have to share this planet with them and they are as vital as the mankind.
The beginning of the series of advanced workshop on snakes/ reptiles, ‘Man/Hood’ depicts the age-old conflict between the humans and snakes and that the manhood demands a compassionate, thought-through, educated and fair attitude towards snakes that are killed only due to our lack of knowledge and right conduct. Honorary Wildlife Warden, Mr Nikhil Sanger educated the society residents about human-snakes conflict and the various factors behind it. He said that snake is a born predator and like any other carnivore, it has its own skill set which it will use to find a potential prey. Thus, the onus in on us to keep areas garbage free so that rodents can be avoided. He also enlightened the audience about the main most venomous snakes in India that are responsible for maximum number of deaths. Wildlife Rescuer, Mr Manik Kapoor who was the also the speaker at the workshop, shared many eye-opening facts shattering lot of myths around reptiles that contribute to the deadly conflict between man and snakes.Thanking the Department of Forests and Wildlife Preservation of Punjab, Dr Yadav, Mr Sanger and Mr Kapoor, the members of the society said that they benefitted a lot from the workshop as it made them aware of the important steps to take to keep these life-threatening creatures at a bay as much as possible.Dr Monika Yadav invites the public to contact the department at [email protected] conduct such workshops on human-reptile conflict. She says she would be delighted to help housing societies, commercial places, schools or any institution who are keen to shed away the wall of unawareness towards mindful conduct of own surroundings and actions towards animals.