Madhya Pradesh has begun what officials describe as India’s first systematic scientific study focused specifically on snakes. The exercise has widely been called a “snake census”, but that description is not quite accurate. The researchers are not trying to count every snake in all 55 districts of the state.
Instead, the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, and the state’s Forest Department are studying which snake species occur in selected protected areas, where they occur, how common each species is and how they use their habitats. Particular attention is being given to venomous snakes.
The study began in March-April 2026 and is expected to continue until the end of 2027. It comes at a time when Madhya Pradesh is concerned about snakebite deaths and gaps in snakebite surveillance, and when the state government wants better information about its snake population.
Timeline
Before 2026: Snake studies had been carried out in two or three forest divisions of Uttarakhand. Herpetological surveys covering reptiles and amphibians had also been conducted in some southern states. But this is the first time an extensive snake-specific study of this kind is being conducted in India.
March-April 2026: The study began. More than 100 forest personnel were trained in a two-day workshop in April.
July-August 2026: The first phase gathered momentum. This falls within the broader July-October period when snake movement, snakebites and associated deaths are generally at their highest.
2026-27: Researchers and forest staff will continue collecting observations across the five selected areas and across different seasons.
End of 2027: The project is expected to be completed, creating baseline information that can be used for future surveys, conservation and public-health planning.
What exactly is this snake study all about?
With this project, Madhya Pradesh is not trying to count every snake. But, it is studying where different snake species are found and how common they are in selected areas.
Researchers want to establish which snake species occur in the selected landscapes, where they occur and, as far as the methods allow, how common they are.
The study will examine snake diversity, population status, and spatial ecology, with particular attention to venomous species. It will also study the home ranges of the Big Four venomous snakes in Madhya Pradesh and identify suitable areas for releasing rescued snakes.
The larger aim is to create baseline information that can be used in future surveys and for habitat management, wildlife monitoring, conservation planning and public-safety interventions.
Is this really a census of all the snakes in Madhya Pradesh?
No. The exercise does not cover every district in the state. It is a detailed study of five protected forest areas. In the three tiger reserves, the work is being carried out in the buffer areas.
This distinction matters because snakes are difficult to count. A photograph or sighting of a snake at a particular location shows that the species is present there, but it does not tell researchers how many snakes live in that area.
Estimating the number of snakes also requires researchers to account for the possibility that a snake present in an area may not be detected.
Where is the study being conducted?
The study covers five protected areas: Kanha Tiger Reserve, Satpura Tiger Reserve, Panna Tiger Reserve, Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Mandsaur and the Amarkantak region.
The sites were selected to represent different ecological settings, including grassland, woodland and areas with abundant water.
Kanha lies in the Maikal landscape of eastern Madhya Pradesh, mainly in Mandla and Balaghat districts. Satpura is in central Madhya Pradesh. Both contain extensive forest habitats but differ considerably in vegetation, terrain and moisture conditions, making them useful landscapes for testing the study’s methods.
Panna represents the Bundelkhand region, while Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary represents savanna ecosystems and open grassland.
The Amarkantak forests of eastern Madhya Pradesh, bordering Chhattisgarh, are a distinctive highland landscape where the Vindhya and Satpura ranges meet. The area is an important hydrological watershed and a rich natural pharmacy of rare medicinal plants. It is part of the Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve and is also the origin of important peninsular rivers flowing in different directions, including the Narmada, Son and Johila.
Why were these five areas chosen?
The idea is to study snakes in substantially different ecological settings and landscapes rather than in one type of forest.
Kanha and Satpura provide extensive forest habitats but differ in vegetation, terrain and moisture. Panna represents Bundelkhand, while Gandhi Sagar provides savanna and open grassland habitats. Amarkantak adds a highland landscape with a very different ecological setting.
Studying these contrasting areas should help researchers test a method that can eventually be repeated elsewhere.
Who is conducting the study?
The main scientific agency is the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
The Madhya Pradesh Forest Department is the state partner, providing field support, personnel, logistics and funding.
According to Dr Abhijeet Das, WII scientist in Endangered Species Management and supervisor of the study, 15 WII researchers are involved, with three researchers in each of the five protected areas. They are working alongside frontline forest staff.
The project is therefore a collaboration between wildlife scientists and the state’s frontline forest personnel rather than a conventional wildlife survey conducted entirely by WII researchers.
What does the study hope to find out?
The researchers are preparing a systematic inventory of snake species and studying their geographical distribution and habitat associations in the selected landscapes.
They also want to estimate relative abundance or density, identify areas where medically important species are concentrated and document threats such as road mortality.
The study could help identify areas where venomous snakes are relatively common and guide decisions about releasing rescued snakes of particular species in areas where they are relatively abundant.
It is also intended to create baseline information for future surveys. Such information could help with habitat management, wildlife monitoring, conservation planning and public-safety interventions.
How are the researchers actually studying the snakes?
The researchers are using road-cruising surveys and visual encounters.
Observations are being made in the early morning, roughly from 5 am to 8 am, and again in the evening and night, roughly from 7 pm to 10 pm.
During the first phase, road-cruising surveys are being used largely to study snake movements and record snake casualties on roads.
More than 100 Forest Department personnel were trained in a two-day workshop in April 2026. Forest staff on patrol have been supplied with snake kits and asked to photograph snakes they encounter.
The photographs are geotagged, meaning they contain GPS location information. They upload them to a common WhatsApp group, where WII researchers review them and add the observations to the species and distribution database.
Why involve forest guards and other field staff?
The Forest Department already has personnel working and patrolling across large areas. They are likely to encounter snakes during routine duties even when a WII researcher is not present.
A forest guard who sees a snake can photograph it and create a location-tagged record. Scientists can then examine the photograph and identify the species.
This gives the study a much larger field network than would be possible if WII researchers had to personally observe every snake.
It also means that routine forest patrols can contribute to the scientific database.
Can these methods actually tell researchers how many snakes there are?
Only to a point. Finding or photographing a snake at a particular location establishes that the species is present there. It does not automatically tell researchers how many snakes live in that area.
Some snakes will be hidden, inactive or otherwise missed. Researchers therefore have to account for the likelihood that a snake present in an area will actually be detected.
This is why the study should not be judged simply by whether it produces a precise number for the state’s snake population. The quality of the sampling and statistical methods matters more.
In a later phase, researchers are likely to use radio-telemetry studies, particularly to understand the movements and home ranges of individual snakes. This could be especially useful in deciding where rescued snakes should be released and monitoring them after release.
Why does the study need to cover different seasons?
The project began in March-April 2026, and the first phase gathered momentum in July-August. This falls within the broader July-October period when snake movement, snakebites and associated deaths are generally at their highest.
But a study carried out only during the monsoon would give an incomplete picture. Snake activity changes with temperature, rainfall, prey availability, and breeding cycles.
The project is therefore intended as a multi-season study. Observations from different periods can give researchers a better understanding of how snake activity changes through the year.
Why is the king cobra part of the study?
The exercise could help answer whether king cobras historically occurred in Madhya Pradesh and whether suitable habitat for them still exists.
The issue became politically prominent after Chief Minister Mohan Yadav called for snakes to be counted and proposed bringing king cobras back to the state. His proposal was linked to concern about snakebite incidents and the belief that the disappearance of king cobras may have allowed other snake populations to increase.
Dr Sameeta Rajoura, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden, said the study may also help create a simulated environment for successful breeding of king cobras.
But this needs to be viewed with caution. King cobras generally prefer humid, dense forest habitats. Many snakebite incidents occur in agricultural and human-dominated areas, so bringing back king cobras cannot be assumed to reduce snakebite.
Experts had also questioned the feasibility of counting snakes and the assumption that releasing king cobras would control medically important snakes.
What are the main limitations of the exercise?
A snake census is not a tiger census. It is technically difficult to estimate absolute snake populations, and the current project should therefore be judged on the quality of its sampling and statistical methods rather than on whether it produces a precise statewide headcount.
More snakes do not necessarily mean more snakebites.
Human behaviour, habitat modification, agricultural practices, housing, monsoon conditions and access to healthcare are also important.
The study can provide better information about snakes and their habitats, but that information will need to be combined with information about people and snakebite cases to understand the wider problem.
(This the first part of a two part explainer series on the Madhya Pradesh's snake study project)