herpetology

It’s not venomous, not rare, and not flashy. But it might just be one of Kerala’s most important wild neighbours. Could naming it the state reptile help us finally see it with respect?

Kalinga Centre for Rainforest Ecology or KCRE, was founded in 2012 by P. Gowri Shankar, a herpetologist, along with his wife Sharmila, who made Agumbe their home to document and better understand the the king of snakes.

Goa-based herpetologist Nirmal Kulkarni has started the initiative “Living with Pythons” to create awareness about pythons and to create a network of rescuers and researchers to collate data on the current status of the species.