Snake Shyam is a wildlife conservationist and is a snake enthusiast of India. His actual name is M.S. Balasubramania. Snake Shyam is a lecturer in Mysore. Interestingly, although he is not a trained herpetologist, he is well-known throughout the region of Mysore as a `naturalist on wheels`. He is known for rescuing snakes and he also educates the public about them. Further, Snake Shyam is sometimes referred by the local hospitals in order to identify species of a snake prior to treatment of a snakebite victim.
Early Life of Snake Shyam
M.S. Balasubramania was born in Mysore District of Karnataka to M.R. Subbarao and A. Nagalakshmi Mirle. From a very early age, he demonstrated his interest in snakes. In one incident, when a snake invaded his neighbour`s home, he convinced not to kill it and later he caught and released it into the garden. From that particular incident, M.S. Balasubramania earned his nickname.
Professional Life of Snake Shyam
Snake Shyam, by profession, was a driver. Since 1982 he was called upon to retrieve snakes that had infringed on people`s properties but for this job he receives no pay. Shyam uses a badminton racquet without strings and a pillowcase to net the snakes, which he releases into the forests afterwards. However, his mission and his job have cost him substantial expense, Snake Shyam continues with the desire to see the snakes released rather than killed. With his vast knowledge of snakes, he can easily identify 28 to 30 local species of snakes. In the year 2004, he estimated that he might have caught and released more than 40,000 snakes so far since his beginning in 1982.
Snake Shyam has been widely acknowledged for his work. Like for instance, National Geographic Channel featured him in its Croc Chronicles like Snakes, Karma, and Action special. Moreover, Mysore city has named a street after his name and has also dedicated its so called first urban forest to him as well as his fellow environmentalist Hyder Ali Khan. Snake Shyam is popularly known for his personal splendour. He has been aptly described by The Hindu as an easily recognisable character of Mysore.
