Is there much concern about poisonous snakes?

[PrincessTigerLily]

Are there many poisonous snakes in India? What about other poisonous animals, such as spiders and scorpions? Is there much concern about this for hiking, say if you are not going with a guide? Or does it depend on what kind of terrain?

I'm not really scared of them, but I would still rather not run into them, especially unexpectedly!

 

[jaden11218]

Poisonous creatures shouldn't be much of a concern, I think you may mean venomous? I read somewhere that India actually has the highest number of recorded snake bites and fatalities, and that about fifty thousand people in India die each year from snake bites. If you are going to cities, though, then you probably don't have to worry too much about venomous snakes. However, if you are planning to do any kind of hiking, jungle adventures, or things of that nature then you should definitely keep an eye out. India has a few different types of venomous snakes and they each have their own terrain they like. There are venomous scorpions and spiders to watch out for too. Make sure you know the risks for each of the locations you are traveling to so that you can be aware of what to watch for.

Also, I read a list of the top ten dangers in India. Snakes were number one. The rest of the list was animals like lions, tigers, and bears (oh my)

 

[Admin]

I have lived in India most of my life and visited every state in India except for Lakshadweep and I am yet to see a snake in the wild and I do not know of anyone personally who has seen a wild snake or bitten by one. If you are lucky enough to get bitten on one of your holidays then no amount of chatting here would help. The only thing that would save you is the local doctor and availability of vaccines. Areas that have a lot of snakes will normally have clinics with anti-venom vaccines available and local doctors would know what to do in such a situation.

Yes lots of people die of snake bites but considering the population we have in India it is minuscule and percentage wise we are far better than most developed countries.