Assam: Real-life Harry Potter snake Salazar pit viper found in Kaziranga, see pics

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma thrilled Harry Potter fans by sharing pictures of a snake discovered in the state, named after a character from the famous novel series. "Isn't nature awesome?" Sarma exclaimed in his post, announcing that the Salazar pit viper was found in Assam's Kaziranga National Park earlier this week. This snake is named after the well-known Harry Potter character, Salazar Slytherin.

The Salazar pit viper, a species of venomous green pit viper, was first discovered in 2019 in the lowlands of western Arunachal Pradesh.

In the Harry Potter universe, Salazar Slytherin was one of the founding members of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He, along with Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Helga Hufflepuff, established the school. Salazar Slytherin was especially famous for his ability to communicate with serpents, a language known as Parseltongue.

Additionally, the serpent symbolizes Slytherin House at Hogwarts, as depicted in the seven fantasy novels by British author J.K. Rowling.

“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,” Sarma said in his post that also accompanied pictures of the snake.

See his post here:

The Salazar pit viper features a dark green head and yellow-tinged green dorsal scales covering the rest of its body. Males are distinguished by their reddish-orange and yellow-orange stripes and a rusty red-orange tail, which are absent in females.