Malabar Pit Viper - Green Morph

[Bibhav Behera]

Got this guy on the second day of our trip in Guddekeri near Agumbe. We stayed at the KCRE (Kalinga Centre for Rainforest Ecology) which is run by Gowri Shankar. Kalinga in Kannada refers to the King Cobra.

We didn't sight any vipers on the first day. Had sightings of some green vine snakes. On the second day we were luckier and sighted this female Malabar Pit Viper, Green Morph. It was in a branch about 8 feet from the ground. It had its head burrowed in its body and we could not get a clear shot. On the third day, I had a hunch that it might have moved its position a little and I went to look for it again. Luckily it had its head out in the open. I got on to some even ground nearby and shot this with my 300mm lens. Light was obviously low and even with umpteen leech bites and horse fly stings, this was a well rewarded trip.

Canon EOS 7D, 420mm
SS 1/50 sec
f/5.6
ISO 1600

Full frame image. Comments and critiques welcome.