Serpent’s Paradise

Amazing news I today came to know that not only thrill me but astonished me. The man and reptile have learnt to coexist peacefully in four villages Musharu, Polshoria, Chhoto Poshla and Boro Poshla of Burdwan district of West Bengal. Children learn about cobras before they even walk. There are snakes everywhere – one for every two residents is the estimate. No one knows the exact number. They are worshipped as an incarnation of goddess Jhankeswari, hence the name jhaenglai. The snakes and people have lived together for hundreds of years.
The villagers won’t touch the snakes. Villagers are extremely protective about the reptiles and do not allow outsiders – even if they are experts – to touch the snakes. According to them the snakes are amazing. They may feed on chicks and ducklings but never harm cattle. The cows and calves stamping on them with their hooves. But they don’t strike back. According to the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), there would have been many more incidents of snakebite. Strangely, villagers are convinced that snakebite can be treated at the temple. Victims are brought to the temple and made to bathe in the pond. They listen to mantras, fast for a day and are not allowed to sleep. In a few days, they are cured.
Many herpetologists and biologists have visited these Burdwan villages to unravel the mystery behind this strange coexistence. No one, though, has succeeded. Researchers can’t do much because villagers won’t let even a single snake be transported out. A team from ZSI visited the villages, confirmed that the snakes were cobras and milked them to test the potency of their venom.  These snakes enter kitchens and climb shelves while the women cook. The snakes do not feel threatened and people have got used to them. It’s truly remarkable.

Wonder!

Primate Genus – Rungwecebus

Scientist thought they had found a new species of living African primate for first time after 83 years.read more...

For the first time scientists have identify a new genus of living African primate. The monkey was dubbed Rungwecebus kipunji for home range of Mt. Rungwe in Tanzania.

Scientists first described the Kipunji in 2005 and noted that it differed in appearance and behavior from other known species of monkeys. They first classified it in the genus Lophocebus, which includes three other species of monkey called Mangabeys. However, that classification was based only on field observations and photographs.
In August 2005, a farmer found a monkey matching the description of the Kipunji dead in a trap and turned the carcass over to the Wildlife Conservation Society in Tanzenia and the Field museum of Natural History in Chicago. The Field Museum sent the muscle tissue samples for genetic analysis. Genetic evidence showed that the kipunji is more closely related to Baboon in the genus Papio than to members of the genus Lophocebus.

However, both field observations and analysis of the animal’s physical characteristics revealed multiple differences between the Kipunji and Baboons. It could not be classified in either the genus Papio or Lophocebus, hence the birth of the new genus Rungwecebus.read summary...