My First Snake picture in the Wild

Picture Of A Wild Water Snake

Though I have always been scared of snakes as a person, as a Photographer I have always wanted to click pictures of a snake in wild, though from a distance. IT is not easy for a common man to know if the snake is poisonous or not hence my respect and fear for the snakes.  For most of us a snake is dangerous kind of animal. But surprisingly most of the snakes are harmless to humans and have their own role to play in nature by

• Eating rats they help farmers
• Are an important part of food chain for Raptors ( loosely birds like Eagles, Hawks, Kites etc. are called Raptors)
• And for some reason in a western mind India is still the land of Snake Charmers, totally ignoring all other aspects of India.

I saw my first snake in wild when I visited the Tal Chapar wildlife Sanctuary, it was a Sand Boa, a totally non poisonous snake, but still I was mesmerized by its beauty and the movement on the sand. Before I could compose myself the snake vanished into a hole.  This left me wondering when I will see my next snake in wild. The opportunity came about a month back when I was standing on the bank of small pond in Hyderabad, clicking pictures of birds.  Suddenly this little head of a snake popped from water and looked at me. I pressed the shutter button instinctively without bothering about settings.  The snake vanished within a few seconds but by then my Nikon camera has captured this image.

Beauty Lies In The Eyes Of Beholder- A Checkered Keelback in Water

 Later on checking with some experts the snake turned out to be Checkered keelback (Xenochrophis piscator)  non poisonous water snake, found  in and most ponds and lakes in Indian subcontinent. The Checkered keelback loves to eat fish, frogs, rodents etc; found near its habitat.

With this my wish to click a snake in wild was fulfilled, but now I want to click more snakes as the beauty of these creatures slowly grow on you. What do you say?