CHENNAI: When Jose Louies was six, he brought home his first snake much to the alarm of his mother. Fast forward to 2016, and the now 37-year-old is at the helm of India’s largest digital database for snakes with an app, simply titled, ‘Indian Snakes.’
Launched in February, the space boasts 212 species that can be filtered geographically— thanks to integration with Google maps. Workable on both Android and iPhone, a big advantage is the offline option for users like trekkers and those working in rural areas with low connectivity.
Hailing from Kottayam, Kerala, Jose, the Regional Head for South India, Wildlife Trust of India, has come a long way from his early days as a snake rescuer in 1997. “All we had back then was a book by Romulus Whitaker to understand different species, what they looked like and most importantly was it venomous or not,” he recalls.
Over a decade later, he started a website to curate all that he had learned in a faster, more digestible format on indiansnakes.org. The app which serves as an extension of the same is meant to offer speedier access to the same, acting as a ‘digital field guide’ in your pocket.
Developed by the Ramakrishna Mission, Shivanahalli, the irony is that several people working on this project are from cities all over the country, and have never met face to face! The core team of seven comprises wildlife enthusiasts from Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, Madhya Pradhesh and Nagpur. And thanks to a Facebook group of the same name, founded a few years ago in 2013 with a massive following of over 20,000 — this digital platform already has a following across herpetologists, snake rescuers, wildlife enthusiasts and even the occasional doctor curious to learn more about snake bite!
In fact, the next focus of this voluntary group of snake conservationists is to put together a quick access list of hospitals that are known for treating snake bite. “This should take a couple of months, but with thousands of fatalities every year in India, a time saver like this in terms of knowing where to go for informed treatment will make all the difference,” Jose smiles.