Salazar Pit Viper: Unveiling the Magical Link Between Nature and Harry Potter in Assam

For most of the 90’s kids, Harry Potter was such a delight to watch, and all those characters and many others wanted to live in that movie. It was full of magic and mystical things; the four houses—Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, and Salazar Slytherin—represent the founders of the house. 

As the Salazar Slytherin represented snakes, a real-life viper snake was named after that house, which is the Salazar pit viper. 

And in a similar manner, like all of us, Assam Chief Himanta Biswa Sarma posted this on X from his handle when he announced a Salazar Pit Viper that was discovered in Assam’s Kaziranga National Park. 

Salazar Slytherin was one of the most powerful founders of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and was known for his ability to talk with snakes; hence, the symbol of the house was a snake.

Check out the viral post:

Assam CM Himanta wrote on his X profile, “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?”

Salazar in Arunachal Pradesh:

There were previous studies that also identified other species of venomous snakes in Arunachal Pradesh, and they named them Trimeresurus Salazar, suggesting they were commonly known as Salazar’s pit viper. This species was first encountered in the forests of the Pakke Tiger Reserve during a field expedition in 2019. 

Pit vipers are native to diverse regions throughout East and Southeast Asia, enhancing the area's biodiversity.

The recent identification of the Salazar pit viper in Assam brings a magical element to the natural world, evoking the realms of fantasy and reality that enchant Harry Potter fans in India.