Explore the nocturnal wilderness at herp walks in Visakhapatnam

Embark on a nocturnal adventure in the Eastern Ghats with herp walks, discovering hidden reptiles and amphibians.

The silence of the night is broken by the soughing of trees in the breeze. Armed with flashlights, cameras, and curious minds, a group of about 15 members, led by Nature educators, embark on a trail to explore the unknown in the Eastern Ghats near Kambalakonda forests in Visakhapatnam.

The first herp walk of the season has just begun when the group spots the Brahminy blind snake on the edge of a leaf litter. One of the world’s smallest snakes, this one – although common – is rarely seen. As research scientist of Kambalakonda Yagnapathy Adari lights it up with his torchlight, the non-venomous snake zigzags into the soil. The snake can be as small as a shoe lace and is probably the second smallest snake in the world behind the Barbados thread snake. “This is a rare sight as these snakes are barely visible on land as they are burrowers, mostly living in underground tunnels and emerging at dusk. One truly weird thing about the Brahminy blind snake is that all of them are female,” explains Yagnapathy as he carefully shifts the torch away.

The night is wrapped in a muddle of distant sounds – the rhythmic croaking of frogs, the rustling of leaves, the quavering call of the nightjar and the occasional hoot of an owl. Venturing deeper into the trek route, the two guides leading the group explain how these sounds are part of the intricate communication system of the forest’s nocturnal inhabitants. In the next two hours, the group discovers many hidden inhabitants of the diverse biodiversity of the region: the wolf spider with spiderlings, the elusive Indian clouded gecko, speckled forest skink and firefly nymph gearing up to make its way to light the night sky.

Organised by Wildlife Conservation Through Research and Education (WCTRE) and Andhra Pradesh Forest Department, the herp walk held earlier this month kickstarted a series of such events in Visakhapatnam that marks the arrival of the monsoon months, known to be the best time to view the diverse herpetofauna of the region.

The Eastern Ghats range, with its unique biodiversity, is a haven for herpetology enthusiasts. In the past two years, herp walks — that are guided tours focused on finding and studying reptiles and amphibians — have become increasingly popular here and offer a unique window into the nocturnal world.

“Among the best locations for herp walks is the Simhachalam Hills. These hill ranges are representative of a very active, vital habitat type amidst the city chaos,” says Vivek Rathod of WCTRE. A recent study recorded the presence of a total of 40 species of reptiles in these hills. But naturalists say a lot more surprises are waiting to be discovered.

In 2022, a new species of gecko called the painted leopard gecko (Eublepharis pictus) was recorded from this part of the northern Eastern Ghats by scientist Zeeshan Mirza and Ch Gnaneswar during one of the herp walks. Among other significant herpetological findings from the region was the first-ever sighting of the elusive Barkudia limbless skink (Barkudia melanostica) at the Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary in May 2023 by the AP Forest Department. “This region is a combination of multiple habitats like terrestrial, arboreal, aquatic and fossorial (ground-dwelling), which make it a very interesting ecosystem of herpetofauna,” says Yagnapathy, who has done research on creating baseline data of snakes and reptiles of Simhachalam hills and Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary along with their systematics and natural history.