Odisha: Fisherman Finds Extremely Rare Leucistic Checkered Keel back Snake
Odisha: Fisherman Finds Extremely Rare Leucistic Checkered Keel back Snake
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Bhubaneswar: Khokan Sethy of Biridi in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur district threw a hook overnight, hoping for a huge catch, but in the morning discovered an exceedingly uncommon leucistic Checkered Keel Back snake in his fishing rod.
According to accounts, he carefully took the line from the water and removed the fish hook from the snake's jaws. However, due to the snake's golden colour, Khokan was unable to identify it. He then forwarded a couple images to Snake Helpline General Secretary Subhendu Mallik. Following that, a three-person Snake Helpline team arrived and examined the snake.
Checkered Keelback snake with leucism was identified as the yellowish snake. The snake's eyes were normal in colour. The eyes would have been pink if it had been an albino. According to Snake Helpline, a regular Checkered Keelback snake has a glossy brown, olive brown, yellow, brown, grey, or black body with a checkered pattern.
The key to identification, however, is found on both sides of the skull, with two distinct black stripes — one below and the other from the eye to the angle of the mouth. In the leucistic Checkered Keelback, the two black streaks are faded to pale black or dark grey. The body is rough in general, and the scales on the back are particularly abrasive. This is the origin of the English name keelback.
This snake is typically found in and around freshwater bodies and paddy fields, and it is active both during the day and at night. A checkered keelback flattens its head, expands its neck ribs, and rears up when aroused. In this position, it is sometimes mistaken for a cobra, according to the report.
After taking the appropriate scientific measures, the snake was released in a suitable adjacent natural environment surrounded by water and rice fields. "People in the area did not kill the highly unusual leucistic specimen because of media awareness." An albino snake would have had a white body and pink eyes. "This yellowish snake with a normal eye has leucism, which is a disorder characterised by a partial lack of melanin pigment," Mallik explained.
