Rare albino striped narrow headed snake found in Nilgiris

Raising curiosity over the strange snake found in Sholur village located in a hillock in the Southern Western Ghats, the wildlife activists alerted the district forest officials, who in turn instructed them to bring the snake to Ooty Government Arts College.

Chennai: A rare specimen of an albino striped narrow-headed snake (Xylophis perroteti) was spotted in the Nilgiris forest area in Tamil Nadu on Friday.

Raising curiosity over the strange snake found in Sholur village located in a hillock in the Southern Western Ghats, the wildlife activists alerted the district forest officials, who in turn instructed them to bring the snake to Ooty Government Arts College. The wildlife researchers huddled in a room to confirm whether the discovered snake was a rare species. To their surprise, the reptile was confirmed as an 'albino species'.

According to the researchers who discovered the snake, albinism is the process by which an organism's skin turns white. Furthermore, it has been suggested that albinism is a genetic disorder. Explaining the cause of the deficiency, the researchers said, "While wild animals are being isolated due to forest fragmentation, it results in isolation of population. During such forays, the wild animals are forced to have inbreeding within the population leading to a genetic disorder.

"This snake is found in high ranges of the Western Ghats over 1,500 meters altitude in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Very few studies have
been carried out on this species, mostly only short notes. Moreover, such a snake is non-venomous, and often lives in the crevices of soil, rocks, and leaves, and eats only earthworms and small creatures. The shape of the snake is cylindrical," said P. Kannan, an assistant professor of Thiru.Vi.Ka College in Thiruvarur, who specializes in the study of reptiles and amphibians.

He added that such species are endemic to the Western Ghats of India and any information on this genus is thus of both immediate and potentially broader interest and the present study describes morphometry, egg size and juveniles of Xylophis perroteti.

Explaining morphology and habitat use, the researcher said the head is small, the nose slightly pointed, the dorsal scales smooth and the blade short. The snake is commonly found in wet areas, tea gardens and sometimes in human settlements. He also noted that understanding the habitats and behaviours of endemic species such as the striped narrow-headed snake points the way to the conservation of the major wildlife habitats and landscapes in the Western Ghats.

Wildlife activist and founder of Vanam Trust of India, Vanam Chandrasekar, said, "We are very happy that such a species of snake has been found in the Nilgiris and there is still a possibility for more undiscovered species in the Western Ghats." He suggested that studies on many cryptic species like narrow-headed snakes are needed in future. "This shows there is enormous hope for young scientists to work on various wildlife species," he said.

When contacted by ETV Bharat, District Forest Officer of Nilgiris, Bhosle Sachin Tukaram, said, "the snake was healthy and we confirmed it as an albino striped narrow-headed snake. Later, the reptile was released back into the forest area."