Every year, snakebites claim nearly 58,000 lives in India, accounting for almost half of the world’s snakebite fatalities. The threat becomes particularly acute during the monsoon, when flooding forces snakes out of their natural habitats and into proximity to homes, agricultural land, warehouses, military establishments, and large infrastructure zones.

While the focus on snakebites has traditionally remained on treating victims after an incident, institutions across India are increasingly turning their attention to a more critical question: how can dangerous human-snake encounters in itself be prevented?