Two scorpions and a baby Russells viper

Lots of interesting stuff to blog about from Timbaktu this time, but let me get some scary stuff out of the way first. This time around was a record of sorts -- in the 5 days that I was there, 2 people got bitten by scorpions and 1 person by a baby Russells viper (sp). The scorpion bites are not too newsworthy. Timbaktu is quite a deserted jungly place and there are quite a lot of scorpions especially after the rains. They like to come indoors probably because it is warm and dry and the inevitable happens. One of the bites was somewhat ironic -- you are always advised to wear footwear to reduce the possibility of getting bitten by a scorpion or snake. So this person woke up at night and wanted to go to the bathroom, so he put on his slippers -- and there was a scorpion on the slipper.

The snake bite was a big event. In fact this has been the first snake bite in the history of Timbaktu it seems. One person was doing some work, trimming a tree or something and didn't watch his step and stepped on a snake and got bitten. Another person who was nearby then ran for help to Dinesh, one of the people there. Dinesh is an expert on snakes and catches and handles them without fear. Then the guy who ran for help felt something heavy in his 'lungi' which he had folded to half length -- and found the snake there ! He jumped and managed to brush it off, and Dinesh caught it and put it into the bottle as seen in the photo. What had happened was, after getting bitten, person had shook the snake off his leg as one would do by reflex, and it was flung onto the other person's lungi without him noticing. It was a baby Russels viper, perhaps 3/4 of a foot long, but poisonous nevertheless. The bitten dude was rushed to Anantapur and now seems in stable condition. Its lucky that the snake was caught and identified as without that you don't know what kind of antivenom to use.

Personally, I'm concerned but not scared off. I don't work there, I spent most of the time at the office at another location. The guest house I'm staying at is as safe as they can make a building at Timbaktu, and there is a caretaker who adds a bit of safety by inspecting and cleaning the place. I'm quite scared and therefore quite careful to check the bedroom for stuff when I come in etc.