The Ophiophagus Kaalinga.
| Photo Credit: P. Gowri Shankar
P. Gowri Shankar with a king cobra
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Karnataka’s own king cobra found in the Western Ghats and known as ‘Kalinga Sarpa’ in the vernacular parlance will get its name ‘Kaalinga’ etched in the scientific world.
A species that has inspired film and popular references in literature, the Western Ghat’s species will be officially named Ophiophagus Kaalinga.
Till recently, the king cobra whose habitat spreads across the South and South-east Asia was believed to belong to one species till a nearly decade-long research led by noted herpetologist, P. Gowri Shankar, brought to the fore four species of king cobra of which Kaalinga is one. It was in 1836 that a broad spectrum of king cobra species was named as Ophiophagus hannah by Danish naturalist, Theodore Edward Cantor.
After an extensive sampling across countries and DNA mapping among others, the king cobra species have been separated to be having four lineages — Western Ghats lineage, Indo-Chinese lineage, Indo-Malaysian lineage, and the lineage of Luzon Island in the Philippine Archipelago.
On November 22, the Western Ghats lineage ‘Kaalinga’ and Luzon Island lineage ‘Salvatana’ will be formally named in Bengaluru for these snakes that has often brought emotions ranging from reverence to fear.
“We found that the king cobra species in the Western Ghats was different from the others and hence the name. The rest of the king cobras found in India display characters of Ophiophagus hannah,” said Dr. Gowri Shankar, whose article naming king cobra as ‘Kaalinga’ appeared in the European Journal of Taxonomy in September this year.
“Since the time Cantor described king cobra, no one had taken up genetic work and for nearly 186 years it had remained as a single species. Genetic work on king cobra was taken up, more than 200 samples were used, and specimens from across the region were collected for the work,” Dr. Gowri Shankar said, speaking of his long research.
Scope for new anti-venom
It was around 2005 when Dr. Gowri Shankar, co-founder of Kalinga Foundation at Agumbe, the home for king cobras, was bitten by the serpent that led him to further research on the species.
“I was given polyvalent, usually administered for bites of the common four Indian venomous snakes. My body also rejected the anti-venom from Thailand for king cobra that was administered later. I was lucky to survive the bite.”
He said: “There is no specific anti-venom for king cobra bites in India. Discovery of four species will help in developing a king cobra specific anti-venom ,” he told The Hindu.
According to him, king cobra venom is not most potent among venomous snake. “But, the amount of venom that they can deliver in a single bite is enough to kill 10 people or even an elephant.” The neurotoxin venom of king cobra affects the respiratory centres, causing respiratory arrest and cardiac failure.
The king cobras are the only snakes in the world to build nests that are 4 ftx 3 ft and the female king cobras are found ferociously guarding them. Each clutch will vary from 23 to 43 eggs and the female leave the nest before the hatchlings emerge.
Dr. Gowri Shankar, who initiated the radio telemetry study on king cobras, has rescued over 500 king cobras from distress situations and monitored over 50 nests, and on November 22 these creatures will have an official name too.
Published – November 17, 2024 08:52 pm IST
