A snake once regarded as one of the world’s rarest reptiles is turning up with surprising frequency in northern Bangladesh, raising new scientific questions about whether climate change and habitat changes are reshaping the distribution of Himalayan wildlife, BBC Bangla has reported.
The Coral Red Kukri (Oligodon kheriensis), locally known as Kamlawati, was first officially recorded in Bangladesh in February 2021.
Until then, the species had been documented only sporadically since its discovery in India in 1936, with confirmed records limited to India and Nepal.
Five years later, however, wildlife rescuers say they have documented at least 66 individuals of the elusive snake in Bangladesh alone, exceeding the number of global records previously reported in scientific literature.
The development has surprised researchers, who say the findings could significantly improve scientific understanding of a species about which very little is known.
“Research is now needed to determine why this snake is appearing so frequently in Bangladesh,” Professor Md Abdul Wahed Chowdhury of the Department of Zoology at the University of Chittagong, told BBC Bangla, who led the country’s first scientific documentation of the species.
The Coral Red Kukri entered Bangladesh’s official reptile records in 2021 after its first confirmed discovery in Panchagarh was published in the Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity, making it the 103rd snake species recorded in the country.
At the time, the species had been reported only a few dozen times worldwide.
The latest observations suggest northern Bangladesh, particularly Panchagarh and Thakurgaon, may now represent one of the species’ most significant known habitats.
Md Shahidul Islam, founder of the Wildlife and Snake Rescue Team in Bangladesh, said he has personally rescued 66 Coral Red Kukri snakes since the first discovery, including both adults and hatchlings.
He recently rescued two more snakes on July 5 and 6 from Boda upazila in Panchagarh.
One measured about three and a half feet, making it the largest Coral Red Kukri documented in Bangladesh so far.
According to him, local residents often mistake the bright reddish-orange snake for a dangerous species because of its unusual appearance.
“They had never seen a snake of this colour before, so they called us,” he said.
Earlier, in January 2023, Shahidul and his team rescued a mother snake along with eight newly hatched young from a bamboo grove in Atwari, providing one of the first clues about the species’ breeding behaviour.
Despite the growing number of sightings, scientists caution that the increase does not necessarily mean the snake’s population is expanding.
Professor Chowdhury said broader ecological changes, including climate change, floods and habitat destruction, are increasingly forcing wildlife to abandon traditional habitats and establish new ones.
His previous research on Bangladesh’s snake populations found that changing rainfall patterns, floods and human encroachment are altering snake movement and distribution across the country.
“When their normal habitats are disturbed, many species migrate to more suitable environments. That is a natural ecological response,” he said.
He believes northern Bangladesh’s geography may also explain why the Coral Red Kukri is being recorded there.
Panchagarh and Thakurgaon lie relatively close to the Himalayan foothills and contain higher ground than much of Bangladesh, making them ecologically more similar to the snake’s traditional range in India and Nepal.
Scientists say the species remains one of the least understood snakes in South Asia.
Very little is known about its lifespan, feeding habits, breeding biology or population size.
The snake is non-venomous, lives mostly beneath soft soil and is rarely seen because of its secretive behaviour.
It has also not yet been assessed for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, meaning its global conservation status remains unknown.
Researchers say the growing number of observations in Bangladesh offers a rare opportunity to answer long-standing scientific questions about one of South Asia’s most elusive reptiles, and to understand how climate change may already be reshaping biodiversity across the region.
