Bhopal, May 17: Hindus worship the snakes because they are considered the necklace of Lord Shiv. Snakes are feared by man and funnily, snakes are afraid of human also. It is because of its poison that man is afraid of this creature. Most of the people are not aware that snakes doe not attack humans unless provoked. And very few of the 6000 varieties of snakes are poisonous. The snakes come in different size and colour. They are part of the nature. When the Hindus worship and fear the snakes the Chinese uses them for eating. The Koreans remove the skin of the snakes, dip them into bottle of liquor and after a few days when the flesh dissolves in the liquor, the bone is removed and drink it tastily.

The Snake Park at Van Vihar houses several type of snakes. The poisonous Cobra and the huge python are the two varieties feared by all. People have the notion that the snakes attack anyone who passes their path. In fact, the fact is quite different. The python attacks other creatures only when it is hungry or is provoked. The Cobra, feared by all, is also harmless if left to its own business. The snakes are supposed to be on this earth since 30 crore years. Around 2700 varieties of snakes are found in Madhya Pradesh. People do visit the Van Vihar to see these fearsome creatures also. They are happy to watch them from a distance because they are sure these poisonous snakes cannot do anything to them. Every snake has its own special habit. The Ghora Pachad variety is considered to be a friend of farmers because it eats the rodents which destroys the grains in the field.

Devrat Tiwsari, an employee of Van Vihar has been working there for nine years now. He said that the snakes consider humans as their enemy. They are very peaceful type and do not attack anybody unless provoked. He said that some snakes produce different sounds to keep the enemy at bay. If the enemy is adamant, then the snake start attacking. According to Tiwari, the King Cobra is the most poisonous snake. A drop of its poison may kill 500 people, he informed.

Cobra, Rattle snake, wiper, rat snake, Lal Dhaman, Karait, Gilhariyan, water snake and python are some of the varieties of snakes kept in the Snake Park.