Meet Nishanth Ravi, one of Chennai’s serpent saviours, whose path through life is anything but a straight line — much like the snakes he rescues. At 31, Nishanth has spent over a decade in wildlife conservation, a passion sparked in his late teenage years in Hyderabad.
Back then, his high school hostel was perched between a mountain and a lake, a crossroads for all sorts of critters. While the warden’s solution was a swift capture-and-kill, Nishanth took a different approach: rescue and release. His degree in chemical engineering left little impression on him compared to the impact of his experiences volunteering with the Students Sea Turtle Conservation Network and learning from wildlife conservationists and rescuers.
Fast forward to today, Nishanth runs the Wildlife Portal of India, a non-governmental organisation, and collaborates with Forest Departments across India to monitor and manage wildlife. His days are as unpredictable as a python’s next move, with rescue calls coming in at all hours—particularly during the sweltering summer months, which see 45 to 90 calls a week in and around the city, and the rainy season between November and January, which sees 40 to 50 calls.
Residing in Alandur, he handles a portion of the rescue calls for the Forest Department, particularly when the volume of calls is too high for the department staff to manage or when urgent situations arise near his neighbourhood.
Upon arriving at a rescue site with a teammate—since snake rescues are always a two-person operation—Nishanth assesses the snake’s hiding spots and potential escape routes. He then carefully approaches and secures the snake before bagging it.
For non-venomous snakes on the city’s outskirts, they recommend releasing them nearby. For venomous snakes, they either release them at a suitable spot not farther than two to three km away or transport them to Guindy National Park or Nanmangalam Reserve Forest if the rescue is within the city.
Nishanth emphasises the importance of raising awareness about snakes just as much as the rescue itself. “The rescue usually takes only two minutes, but we spend ten minutes on awareness,” he says.
When he’s not rescuing wildlife, leading snake walks with the Irulars, or travelling for conservation work, Nishanth relaxes at beaches along ECR and Besant Nagar, and is fond of the erstwhile Sathyam Cinemas’ popcorn. His favourite thing about the city, however, is the respect they have for animals in general, and snakes, particularly.
“I’ve worked in all the metro cities, and unlike other places where people try to react by attacking or poisoning wildlife, here in Chennai there is still some level of respect, possibly due to the cultural significance placed on snakes,” he says.
If you see Nishanth dashing off with a snake in tow, just know he’s probably saving the day, one slithery creature at a time!
