Madhya Pradesh's Snake Census: 50 Species, 16 Bite Hotspots, Race To Map Deadliest Reptiles

Somewhere inside a Madhya Pradesh forest, a snake slips across a patrol road in the darkness. A forest guard stops, photographs it, records the location and sends the GPS-tagged image for identification. Elsewhere, researchers drive slowly through a forest road after sunset, scanning the ground and undergrowth for movement. In another part of the state, preparations are being made for the next stage attaching radio transmitters to selected snakes to find out where they go after disappearing into the forest.

This is Madhya Pradesh's much talked-about "snake census". Except, scientifically, it is not really a census. Instead of attempting the nearly impossible task of counting every snake in the state, Madhya Pradesh has begun what is being described as India's first extensive snake-specific scientific exercise to study their diversity, distribution, relative abundance and ecology. The project is being conducted by researchers from the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, along with the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department across five protected forest landscapes.

The immediate push for the exercise came from Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav, who had called for snakes to be counted in Madhya Pradesh amid concern over rising snakebite incidents. The proposal was also linked to the question of whether the disappearance of the king cobra from the state may have allowed populations of other snakes to increase. The Chief Minister had also spoken about the possibility of bringing king cobras back to Madhya Pradesh.

That political idea has now evolved into a much more cautious scientific exercise.

The Wildlife Institute of India, or WII, is not attempting to produce a dramatic statewide number of snakes. Instead, its researchers are trying to answer more useful questions like which species occur where, which landscapes support greater snake diversity, where medically important venomous snakes are relatively more abundant, how far they move and which areas may be suitable for the release of rescued snakes.

The study began in March 2026 and is expected to continue till the end of 2027.

Behind what may sound like an unusual forest experiment lies a serious public-health story. Madhya Pradesh has around 50 recorded snake species, according to Ujjain-based Sarp Anusandhan Sangthan. Nine of them are venomous, including the medically important "Big Four" -- the Indian cobra, common krait, Russell's viper and saw-scaled viper.

The organisation has identified 16 snakebite-prone districts in Madhya Pradesh -- Alirajpur, Barwani, Balaghat, Betul, Chhatarpur, Chhindwara, Damoh, Dhar, Jhabua, Mandla, Panna, Sagar, Satna, Seoni, Katni and Singrauli.

The public-health burden has also been rising sharply in official records. Integrated Health Information Program, or IHIP, data recorded 1,208 snakebite cases in Madhya Pradesh in 2022. The number rose to 1,479 in 2023 and then to 3,334 in 2024 almost a three-fold increase in two years.

An analysis of Madhya Pradesh government compensation records found 5,779 compensated snakebite deaths between April 2020 and March 2022, with around Rs 231 crore paid to affected families. Satna and Sagar were among the districts reporting particularly high numbers. Madhya Pradesh provides Rs 4 lakh compensation in eligible cases of death due to snakebite.

It is against this backdrop that WII researchers are trying to create something Madhya Pradesh has never had before, a scientifically grounded map of its snakes. The survey is being carried out in five distinct landscapes -- Kanha Tiger Reserve, Satpura Tiger Reserve, Panna Tiger Reserve, Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary and the forests of Amarkantak. In the three tiger reserves, the exercise is concentrated largely in buffer areas.

The locations have been chosen because together they represent dramatically different ecological zones.

Kanha represents the Maikal landscape of eastern Madhya Pradesh. Satpura covers the heavily forested central belt. Panna represents the comparatively dry Bundelkhand landscape. Gandhi Sagar offers open grassland and savanna-like habitat and is also emerging as the second home of African cheetahs in India. Amarkantak represents an ecologically rich highland where the Vindhya and Satpura ranges meet.

For researchers, these contrasting landscapes provide an opportunity to examine how snake populations change with vegetation, moisture, altitude, temperature and habitat.

Around 15 WII researchers, three in each landscape, are working with frontline forest staff. More than 100 forest personnel were trained before intensive fieldwork gathered momentum. Teams conduct visual encounter surveys in the early morning and at night, when snake activity is higher. They also carry out road-cruising surveys, slowly driving along forest roads to record live snakes as well as roadkill.