Foresters of Kerala now have a unique problem at hand, pythons surfacing in urban areas.
During the past two years, the officials of Malayattoor Forest Division alone caught 494 pythons from urban areas after panic-stricken residents calling for help. The long and heavy snakes were caught even from urban areas like Fort Kochi and Mattancherry.
The non-poisonous snakes reach urban areas through waterbodies and settle in vacant and unattended plots, say snake experts.
At Kothamangalam Forest Division, an animal catcher engaged by the department caught 91 pythons and 10 king cobras among other animals during the past two years and released them to the forest area near Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary, Thattekad, says a forest official.
The calls come from far away places and urban centres as well, even during odd hours. Since the wildlife managers are expected to rescue animals, and avoid human-animal conflict, animal catchers are deployed to catch the animal. The snakes thus rescued are released to nearby forest areas, says A. Ranjan, Divisional Forest Officer, Malayattoor.
Jose Louis, an IUCN viper specialist, says Indian Rock Pythons, a non-poisonous variety, can never harm human beings but could even offer help by keeping poisonous snakes like cobras and vipers at bay from urban areas. They usually settle in undisturbed holdings and most of their hatchlings survive in urban areas. The snakes also help in keeping the population of pests like rats and stray dogs under check. “A python on your backyard is as harmless as a sparrow,” he adds.
People nowadays often report the presence of snakes than killing them. There has also been an increase in its population, Mr. Louis says. The snakes are usually found in “mixed and dry deciduous forests, mangroves, grasslands, rainforests and semi-deserts” and they live in “dense vegetation, agricultural land’s edge and rocky hills.” The snakes are usually non-offensive and try to escape to hide in natural surroundings, according to a website Indiansnakes.org. Besides pythons, 18 cobras, seven vipers, three king cobra and 70 toddy cats were rescued from urban areas last year.
