In the king's trail

At Agumbe, the very first study of the King Cobra in its natural habitat is underway. But the snake, of whom so much is still unknown, remains elusive

It rained and it rained, for fivedays and five nights. Wheneverthere was a momentary respite,birds would sing from trees thathad long back disappeared into themist. It was the second coming ofthe monsoon. Just when everyonethought it was the end of the season,it met us on the border of Goa andKarnataka, and travelled with us allthe way to Udipi, and then up intothe magical mountains of Agumbe.

Agumbe in the Western Ghatsreceives the second highest rainfallin India. And it has 54 square kilometresof pristine rainforests teemingwith wildlife. Apart from beinghome to an exotic variety of insects,flowers, birds and butterflies, it'salso the land of reptiles, and thecapital of the most mysterioussnake of them all, King Cobra.

Family rituals
Walking past the snake shrine andthe temple pond near AgumbeRainforest Research Station, I wasreminded of a similar shrine in myancestral home in Kerala.My great grandmotherused to feed milk tothe snakes thatinhabited the shrine,once a year. Familyfolklore has it thatonce she forgot allabout the ritual,and a golden snakecrawled into ourhouse to remindher, perhaps, of herlapse.

My early memoriesof that snakeshrine are of fearand fascination.Made of blackstone, it instantlyinvoked respect.And it stood majesticallyunder acanopy of ancient,intertwined creepersthat looked likesnakes. Every day a stone lampwould be lit, and I would accompanymy grandmother in the hope ofcatching a glimpse of the goldensnake.

A pilgrimage through a forest
We reached the Research Station atAgumbe and immediately set off forthe Onaki Abbi Waterfalls. Wewalked through curtains after curtainsof rainfall, and despite theheavy rain gear that we had worn,we were drenched to the bone withinminutes. Suddenly the forest pathnarrowed, and in front of us therewas a carpet of decayed leavesteeming with leeches. As we continuedour march into the heart of therainforest, it dawned on me thatleeches are a forests' first line ofdefence, keeping unwanted guestsat bay. After an arduous pilgrimage,we reached Onakki and saw thebreathtaking sight of a waterfalltaking a sheer drop of over 300 feetinto a valley of mist.

Our next trip was at night.

The woods at night
Armed with searchlights, we venturedinto the forest. Right near thegate was a lime tree on which all thefour stages of a butterfly's life weredisplayed on different branches: anegg, a larva, a pupa and a butterfly.

On a tree top, snuggling into eachother, was a shy, elusive pair ofSlender Lorises with large eyesgleaming eerily in the light of thetorch.

Next up was the exotic MalabarGliding Frog, camouflaged so perfectlythat only Vipul, our guide andresearch assistant at the station,could have spotted it. He picked itup gently from the leaf and it glidedfrom his hand to mine. Thoughgreen, it had two thick red lines runningalong its sides. To camouflageitself on a leaf, it flattens itself tohide this 'manufacturing defect'.

Back at the camp, we were lulledinto sleep by the soothing raga ofthe brooks and the pleasant rhythmof the raindrops falling on our roof.

There was no respite from thedownpour next day.After a few hours' joy ofwearing dry clothes, wewere back in torrentialrain heading to a picturesquehill calledKundadri. We reachedthe top after a steadyclimb along a road thatwas lined with yellowflowers on one side, and white flowerson the other. The serpentineroad ended abruptly at a stonesculpture of a snake. Beyond it lay adilapidated Jain temple. And to theright of the temple was a pond,where, we were told, the water levelremains the same in the height ofmonsoon and the peak of summer.

In the evening, we set out to discoverVipul's secret waterfall.Walking dangerously through arivulet in spate, drenched by endlesssheets of rainfall, we reached a massivetree, its buttress roots measuringa whopping 40 feet across. Andright behind the tree was the sightof a friendly waterfall; the kindthat's gentle and soothing, ratherthan awe inspiring. It's where Vipulretreats in his private moments formeditating on life and its meaning.

In search for the king
Here at Agumbe, the very firststudy of the King Cobra in its naturalhabitat is under way. Its behaviouris being observed by implantinga transmitter in its body and thentracking its movements with areceiver. The cobra currently beingtracked was in a self-imposed exilein a termite mound on the outskirtsof a village called Kesargonda. Ithad disappeared into the moundand hadn't come out for two weeks.

A lot is known about the King, butthere's much that isn't. It's knownthat the King Cobra is the onlysnake that eats snakes. It's also theonly snake that builds a nest to layits eggs. The world's largest venomoussnake doesn't normallywaste its venom on humans, sincethe venom is in shortsupply. And when theeggs hatch, the 'Queen'slithers away, lest itsinstinct to eat othersnakes overpowers itsmaternal one.When we werereturning in the night,Gowrishankar, thehead of the Research Station, was atthe wheel. Suddenly he pressed thebrakes, and the vehicle came to ascreeching halt in the still forest. Hegot down and gently picked up a littlekeel-back snake that was aboutto cross the road. And walking inthe rain, he deposited it safely on anoverhanging branch, and came backwith a smile that had traces of reliefin it.

The next morning, right in frontof the cottage were three largeegrets and a pair of white-neckedstorks swimming silently in themist. Passing by Gowri's house, Iremembered the warmth withwhich he had carried the little snakeback to where it belonged: the dark,mysterious rainforests of Agumbe.And I knew in my heart that one daythe elusive Kings of Agumbe wouldreveal all their dark, mysterioussecrets to him. Sooner than later.

Gangadharan is a wildlife writerand photographer. He is the presidentof Junglelens, an NGO working fornature and wildlife conservation

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