Vava Suresh: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 21:15, 20 March 2013
Vava Suresh | |
|---|---|
 Vava Suresh during a snake catching mission at Pandalam | |
| Born | 38-39 [1] |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation(s) | Wild life conversationalist, Social worker |
| Known for | Snake catching and wildlife conservation |
Suresh, popularly known as Vava Suresh, is an Indian wildlife conservationist and a snake expert. He is known for his missions for saving snakes straying in to human inhabited areas in and around the district of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, India. He is believed to have captured and rescued more than 30,000 straying snakes. He is widely known for his conservation activities like rescue and release of endangered species of snakes, preservation of collected eggs till hatching periods and creating awareness among people about snakes and their behavior.[2][3] He releases his reptile collections into natural habitats at regular intervals of time.[4] His efforts to capture poisonous snakes from human populated areas and to educate the people about snakes and their behavior is widely acknowledged. [5]
Early Life
Suresh was born in to a poor family and resides in 'Sree Kariyam' in Trivandrum. Suresh attributes his snake handling skills to his instinctive passion for snakes from childhood at an age of twelve when he captured a baby cobra and kept it hidden in his house to study its behavior. Since then he began to focus on handling the snakes without injuring the snake or himself and to study their behavior more closely.
Capture Missions and Activities
He attributes his skills and experience on capturing and handling the reptile from longtime association with the reptiles since his childhood and he has not got a formal training or scientific education regarding snakes and reptiles. His general modulus operand is to attend phone calls of people who find snakes in areas and situations possessing a risk to people, he then proceeds to the locations and tries to capture the snakes unharmed, to later release them in to natural forest habitats. He does not use any special safety equipment or gears and generally capture and handles the snake bare handed. Suresh came to limelight after wide spread start up of local area cable channels in the state, where his attempts on capturing the snake were often filmed and broadcast on the channels and then on to internet.
Suresh has claimed to have captured more than 30,000 snakes and released them in protected forest ranges. This includes around 17 King Cobras considered to be one of the most venomous and ferocious in world. He has to surgically remove one of his fingers after suffering a cobra bite. His palm on the right hand had to be skin grafted after suffering a bite in 2012. His body is generally considered to have developed sufficient antibodies against snake venoms after suffering numerous bites.
Denial of government job
In recognition of his services to the society, Forest Department and his efforts in conserving various vulnerable species of snakes endemic to the state, Suresh was offered a government job[6] in 2012 by minister K. B. Ganesh Kumar, at the snake park that would be set up at the Kottur forest area near Kattakada in Thiruvananthapuram. But Suresh denied it, saying that he would be unable to help the society the way he wants to if he was employed.[7]
Accidents
During his long career of conservation activities, he has encountered numerous accidents. According to ABP Maza, newschannel interview on 05h June 2012, Suresh was kept on ventilator twice and in ICCU four times. In all, Suresh has survived more than 250 snake bites.[8]
Recognitions
Suresh was declared winner of 'Vocational Service Award 2011' instituted by the Rotary Club's Thiruvananthapurm division.[9][10] He was selected for his service to the society for many years.
References
- ^ http://www.indianexpress.com/news/vava-suresh-snake-man-of-kerala/778137
- ^ "King Cobra sightings bring up snake bite treatment issues". The Hindu. 2010-09-30. Retrieved 2011-04-06.
- ^ "Seriously hurt cobra saved through surgery". Manorama Online. 2011-03-21. Retrieved 2011-04-06.
- ^ "Vava Suresh continues his mission to rescue snakes despite the occasional bites". The Hindu. 2010-07-05. Retrieved 2011-04-06.
- ^ "Where snakes feel at home". The Hindu. 2010-07-05. Retrieved 2011-04-06.
- ^ http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-03-21/thiruvananthapuram/31219671_1_snake-park-deadly-snakes-forest-minister
- ^ http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/snake-catcher-vava-suresh-denies-job-by-kerala-forest-minister/1/184330.html
- ^ http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/snake-catcher-vava-suresh-denies-job-by-kerala-forest-minister/1/184330.html
- ^ "Award for snake catcher". thehindu.com. 2011-04-23. Retrieved 2011-04-27.
- ^ "Rotary award for Vava Suresh". expressbuzz.com. 2011-04-21. Retrieved 2011-04-26.