Do not panic if you see a snake! As you know now, not all of them are venomous.  If you cannot identify it, do not kill it. Instead, call one of the volunteers listed below. There are over 20 volunteers  in Saligao and Bardez who will come immediately, catch the snake and release it back into the wild. Some of these volunteers will request for a small fee to cover fuel expenses.

Snake Rescue Volunteers

Name – Residence – Area of operation – NGO – Contact numbers (some may have changed)

Saligao:

Griselda Nobay, Donvaddo – GCR – 9823802842 / 2278567

Tarika & Suhail, Donvaddo – GCR – 2409999 / 2278276

Bardez:

Suneel Korajjkar, Mapusa, Bardez – GCR – 9822123042/ 2253715

Alfred D’Mello, Nagoa, Bardez – GCR – 9823053474 / 2278903

Sagar Kambli, Mapusa, Bardez – GCR – 9823937930

Sahil Warang, Camurlim, Bardez – GCR – 9823508765

Prasad Shirodkar, Mapusa – GCR – 9765451302

Aaron Fernandes, Mapusa, Bardez – GCR – 9850560560

Mario Fernandes, Calangute – Bardez/Tiswadi – GCR – 9923667665

Rahul Alvares, Parra, Bardez – (Creepy Times) – 2278740 / 6510871 / 9881961071

Nitin Sawant, Porvorim, Bardez – WWF – 9822483535 / 9823915208 /2414278

Oldrin Pereira, Aldona – Bardez – NNC – 9850450120

Arnold Noronha, Bardez – VEAB – 9420685641

Ramesh Zamekar, Bardez – VEAB – 9923306455

Sharad Chari, Aldona – Bardez -  NNC – 2293193

Mario Cavallari, Bardez – ARS – 9822166175

Aaron Lobo, Porvorim – 2412265 / 9822135019

Neil Alvares, Nerul – 2402957 / 3116183 / 9822158688

Sainath Shirodkar, Mapusa – Bardez/Tiswadi – GFD – 9422062880 / 2265772

Forest Dept, Campal, Panjim – North Goa – GFD – 2228772 / 2229701

All Goa:

Sanket Naik, Pernem – VEA – 9421239791

Prasad Kassikar, Bambolim -  GCR – 2459322

Amrut Singh, Bicholim – ARS – 9422062503 / 2363803

Anand Dalvi, Bicholim – ARS – 9923528080

Vivek Parodkar, Sattari, Bicholim – VEA – 9423600333 / 2369387

Deepak Gawas, Sattari, Bicholim – VEA – 9421248643

Kedar Kanekar, Satteri – Bicholim – ARS – 9324857453

Chandrakant Shinde – Sattari, Bicholim -VEA – 9420159497

Anand Melekar, Satteri – ARS – 9764681913

Rama Bagi, Valpoi – GCR – 2382163

Forest Dept., Margao – South Goa – GFD – 2750246

Venkatesh Sansgiri, Margao – 2550922 / 9822150355 – GCR

Julio Quadros – South Goa – 9822152010

Amol Naik – South Goa – GCR – 2605672 / 9822158715

Sudan Naik, Mormugao – Salcete – ARS – 9822387347/ 2550898

Pankaj Lad – Salcete -VEA – 9372109987/ 2751308

Neelam Khomarpant, Margao – Salcete – GCR – 9822123868/ 9822123042

Philip Fernandes – Margao, Salcete – 9822986505

Clinton Vaz, Salcete – WLG – 9890936828 / 2736828

Forest Dept., Mollem – Sanguem GFD – 2612211

Satish Poinguinkar, Canacona – ARS – 9421244555/ 9823134465 / 2641510

Paresh Porob, Canacona – GFD – 9822157139

Forest Dept., Bondla – Ponda – GFD – 2610022

Surel Tilve, Ponda – ARS – 9422058590 / 2335078

Dilip Naik, Ponda – 9823229378 / 2316492

Kamlakant Parab, Ponda – PFA – 9822130598/ 3207920

Dilesh Hazare, Ponda – ARS – 9422453437 / 2340609

Girish Kelakar, Ponda – 2343826 (res), 2314435(off)

GFD = Goa Forest Department; VEAB = Vivekananda Environmental Awareness Brigade; ARS = Animal Rescue Squad; GCR = Green Cross; PFA = People for Animals; WWF = World Wildlife Fund; NNC = Nisarga Nature Club: WLG = Wild Goa

Snakebite Treatment In Goa

SNAKEBITE? Follow this treatment plan:

a.  Reassure the patient.

b.  If the bite is on the hand or the arm, put the arm in a triangular sling and get hospital treatment urgently.

c.  If the bite is on the leg, put it in a splint to immobilise the bite.  Again, get hospital treatment urgently.

d.  The patient should be encouraged to keep still and move as little as possible.

e.  Treat a venomous snakebite with ASV or Anti-Snake Venom (also called antivenom or antivenin) at a doctor’s clinic or in hospital.  Care should be taken to ensure that the patient is not allergic to antivenom.  20% of all people who are given ASV treatment develop some kind of allergic reaction.

Do not:

a.. Wash the wound; the act of washing leads to moving the venom around the body.

b.. Cut or burn the wound.

c.  Attempt to suck the venom out of the wound.

d.. Apply a tourniquet or pressure bandage (the only time a pressure bandage should be considered is if the snake concerned is definitely, 100% a Krait and the journey to hospital is going to take several hours. If the journey is only going to take up to a couple of hours the same treatment should be given as that for any other venomous bite)

e.. Give anything by mouth except in the case of dehydration.

f.. Self-administer antivenom.  This is particularly dangerous without the ability to cope with any allergic reaction, which has the potential to kill far quicker than any snake bite.

The mere act of sticking a needle into your tissue can cause un-controlled bleeding and oedema (swelling). This is why Anti-Snake Venom should be administered by a doctor in hospital!

These hospitals and Primary Health Centres (PHCs) have ASV in case of a venomous snakebite:

Hospitals: Goa Medical College (GMC), Bambolim.  Hospicio, Margao.  Asilo, Mapusa.

(If  there is enough time, take the patient to GMC.)

PHCs with phone numbers (call to check if Anti-Snake Venom is in stock):

Valpoi – 2374260; Bicholim – 2362041; Sanquelim – 2364258; Pernem – 2291249

Siolim; Aldona – 2293251; Candolim – 2276035; Betki – 2287160; Ponda – 2312115; Sanguem – 2604235; Curchorem – 2650566; Bali – 2670216; Canacona – 2643339; Assolna.

Compiled by anOTHERskool, Saligao, for an awareness programme on identifying, handling and  rescuing snakes, at a children’s camp organised by the youth of Mae de Deus parish, Saligao, Goa.

Sources: Rahul Alvares (Creepy Times), Clinton Vaz (Wild Goa), Suneel Korajjkar (Green Cross). Many thanks to these path-breaking conservation teams for their committment to Goa’s wild life & environment. Want to save Goa, our environment and wildlife?…join one of these groups…NOW!

Saligao, 6 May 2009

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