A bright green snake discovered in 2019 and named after Salazar Slytherin, a character in the Harry Potter universe, has been found in Assam’s Kaziranga National Park. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma shared the news on his official X account.
“Kaziranga just found a real-life Harry Potter snake! Meet the super cool Salazar Pit Viper: it’s green like magic and has a funky red-orange stripe on its head,” Sarma wrote on X.
🌟 Guess what, kids? 🐍 Kaziranga just found a real-life Harry Potter snake! Meet the super cool Salazar Pit Viper: it’s green like magic and has a funky red-orange stripe on its head. Isn’t nature awesome? 🌿✨ #MagicalSnake #KazirangaAdventures pic.twitter.com/GMxKuszzB7
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) July 8, 2024
In the Harry Potter Potter series authored by J.K. Rowling, Salazar Slytherin is one of the founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The character is also famous for his ability to speak ‘Parseltongue’ or the language of serpents. The snake is a symbol of the Slytherin house, founded by Salazar Slytherin, in Hogwarts.
The venomous snake was first spotted by researchers in Arunachal Pradesh in 2019. It was named ‘Trimeresurus Salazar’ but has come to be commonly known as Salazar’s pit viper. The snake was found in the forests of the Pakke Tiger Reserve during a field expedition.
Flooding In Kaziranga National Park
The finding comes as Kaziranga experiences its worst deluge in recent years amid heavy rains in Assam. A total of 159 animals have died so far due to drowning and during treatment, while 133 others had been rescued till Tuesday.
As of Monday, the toll was 137.
Such large-scale devastation was last seen in 2017, when over 350 animals died in flood waters and vehicle hits while migrating through animal corridors to the highlands.