VIDEO: He Releases Hundreds of Rat Snakes!

This video was shot in Pachmarhi forest of Hoshangabad area, near Bhopal. In the footage, a man can be seen not only pouring hundreds of rat snakes out of a large bag, but also patting them away. One of them even gets attached to his trousers.

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Salem Khan has been a snake catcher for more than half of his life. Each day, he wrangles anywhere from 25 to 30 snakes and bags them up. He thinks of the slithering serpents as friendly, helpful creatures, as they kill creatures that pose a threat to farms.

According to Live Science, in the past two decades, the question of what is a rat snake has become increasingly complicated to answer. Until the early 2000s, both Old and New World rat snakes were generally thought to belong to the same genus, Elaphe, according to Alan Savitzky, a professor of biological sciences at Utah State University who specializes in the biology of snakes.

“There was a time not that long ago when all rat snakes were considered closely related,” Savitzy said. “We know now that the rat snakes in North America are more closely related to the king snakes than the Old World rat snakes.”

New technologies in molecular evolutionary studies have enabled scientists to look at the DNA differences between snakes, Savitzy told Live Science. This has caused a great deal of upheaval in snake classification, and snakes are being moved into different genera.

In 2002, herpetologist Urs Utiger published findings in the Russian Journal of Herpetology and proposed reclassifying North American rat snakes as members of the genus Pantherophis.

The proposal met with mixed reactions. Some authorities adopted the classification. For example, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), a collaborative network of researchers, accepts Pantherophis, as does the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR), an international non-profit organization that supports herpetological research and education.

However, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), recognized as the arbiter for the correct use of the scientific names of animals, does not recognize Pantherophis; nor does the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

TheIntegrated Taxonomical Information System (ITIS), a partnership of organizations that provides taxonomic information, lists Pantherophisspecies as “invalid.”

Rat snake behavior varies among species. Some species, such as the black rat snake/eastern rat snake, are known to be shy but somewhat snappish and aggressive when cornered, according to Marshall University.

They produce a bad-smelling musk when touched by a predator or picked up by a person, and spread it around with their tail. On the opposite end of the spectrum are corn snakes, some of the most docile serpents around.

All species of rat snakes may vibrate their tails in attempt to trick a predator into confusing them for a rattlesnake. “This type of mimicry, where a harmless species mimics a harmful species, is known as Batesian mimicry,” said Bill Heyborne, a herpetologist and professor of biology at Southern Utah University.

While it may be helpful in keeping predators away, Batesian mimicry can cause problems for rat snakes. Humans often kill them thinking they are venomous rattlers.