Keep calm and freeze
It’s just a snake!
Sinny Mole
Life lessons come to you when you least expect them. My children and I came away from an annual excursion trip in 2016 to a wildlife sanctuary with more than just enjoyment, togetherness, and fun.
Our batch for the camp comprised 40 children of class 5 and four teachers. We were visiting the Hingolgadh Wildlife Sanctuary in the Rajkot district of Gujarat. We reached the campsite in the first week of August in 2016. The duration of the camp extended over three days and two nights. It was a never-before opportunity for the children to explore and experience unknown places and situations. For many of the children, it was their first time travelling without their families, and the camp provided them with opportunities to be independent and exercise self-discipline. Such experiences contribute significantly to a child’s holistic development.
The Hingolgadh campsite had a zoo that showcased different types of snakes. The forest department personnel talked to us briefly about the snake species in the zoo. Now, not many animals evoke an extreme emotional response from humans like snakes do and as more people encroach on the native habitats of snakes, snake sightings near human settlements have become more common.
Interestingly, snakes are more afraid of us than we are of them. Basically, snakes are not aggressive. All the same, it is best that we watch them from a distance. In fact, all snakes, venomous or not, try to avoid their human neighbours and resort to striking or biting only when they feel threatened. If you leave them alone, you should have no problem at all. The most important thing is to not panic, which means that one must do some work on managing one’s fears. The key to education is here.
The zoo personnel had organized an activity for handling and playing with pet snakes. It was a most interesting and fun activity for the children. It is important to understand these creatures, be compassionate, and consider their right to live in nature. Not frightening the snake is important. The goal of this camp was to help build a healthy level of respect for snakes and to gain knowledge on what to do if one spotted a snake.
So while we were being told to wear shoes to protect our feet, be alert, and walk vigorously to alert the snake to our presence (this in case we were in an environment that housed snakes), a child asked, “What should we do if we spot a snake, despite all these measures?”
“Keep calm, and freeze,” we were told.
It is important not to panic. When we freeze in our spot, a snake will not consider us a threat and move away on its own.
When we are afraid, we often end up doing something to cause ourselves harm. By trying to escape the snake, we are actually inviting harm to ourselves. The snake will perceive any sudden movement from us as a threat to itself and strike at us. Instead, if we are able to control our emotions and stay still, the snake will leave us alone. Isn’t this a lesson that will come in useful in many situations in life?
Sinny Mole has been a math teacher and Assistant Coordinator, Primary-2 at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Reliance Foundation School, Reliance Greens, Jamnagar. She can be reached at sinnymolepm@yahoo.in.
