A five-foot-long Russell’s Viper was killed with a harpoon in Faridpur's Charbhadrasan on Wednesday morning.
Ibrahim Al Haidar, a professor of Zoology at Chittagong University, confirmed that the snake was Russell's Viper by looking at its picture.
The giant snake was seen by the local residents of Char Harirampur in a paddy field around 10am, and out of fear, they killed the snake with a harpoon.
According to the local residents, Sheikh Mosharraf, 43, listened to the snake hissing on Wednesday morning while watering his paddy field and screamed.
Hearing his screams, the farmers working around gathered together and saw the snake. Later, they killed the snake harpooning and burning it.
Another Russell's Viper was killed in the same area on January 15, 2021. That snake was about 4.5-foot-long.
The IUCN Bangladesh declared Russell’s Viper extinct in an audit in 2002, said Professor Ibrahim.
The snake was again seen in the char areas of Rajshahi in 2012 (in 2009, according to some), he said.
The snake has recently been seen in parts of Barisal, Patuakhali, Bhola, Chittagong, and Lakshmipur.
The neurotoxic and hemotoxic poisons of this snake primarily make the bitten part of the body swell, and then, gradually stop the nervous system and kidney from functioning, he added.
However, someone bitten can be saved if taken to the hospital quickly, since most medical colleges of Bangladesh now have the anti-venom for the poison of Russell’s Viper, said Prof Ibrahim.
Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer of Charbhadrasan Hafizur Rahman said that they had seen Russell’s Viper in the area in late 2016.
Around 8 to 10 people died in 2018 and 2019 from the bite of the snake in that area, he said.
The rate of deaths went down because of the availability of anti-venoms at the Upazila Health Complex, he added.
Upazila Forest Officer Md Salah Uddin said that he was unaware of the death of the Russell's Viper on Wednesday.
