Thiruvananthapuram: Popular snake catcher Vava Suresh, who was bitten by a viper on Thursday, is recovering at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital.

Hospital Superintendent Dr M S Sharmad said Suresh's condition is stable. "He has been administered anti-venom at the multi-disciplinary intensive care unit," he said.

The viper bit Suresh while he was trying to catch the snake at Pathanapuram on Thursday. He was rushed to the Government Medical College Hospital in Kollam before being taken to the Medical College Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram.

Suresh, who rescued more than 50,000 snakes so far, had been administered anti-venom many times in the past. It is a major cause of worry for the doctors as his body might have developed antibodies that counter the anti-venom. "If that is the case, the anti-venom that we administered would have minimal impact. That is why we are keeping him under observation for 72 hours," Dr Sharmad said.

The incident happened a few days after Suresh announced retirement from the snake rescue missions, during a live television show. 

The trigger for the decision appears to be the social media attack against him. “I was criticised for rescuing snakes, kissing them and exhibiting them. So I would stop catching snakes in a few months," he had told Manorama in January.