A four-foot-long juvenile Indian rock python was rescued by NGO Wildlife SOS in south-west Delhi’s Aya Nagar phase-V on Monday night.
The snake was found coiled up on a scooter.
The NGO said the snake is under observation and will be released into its natural habitat soon.
Wildlife SOS said that a distressed resident called up their 24-hour rescue helpline (9871963535) around 10.30 p.m.
Kiran Kumar, who called the NGO, said: “I was shocked to find the snake coiled up on my scooter. We are close to the outskirts of the city and there are many forested areas nearby. We often find snakes here. The Wildlife SOS team responded quickly even thought it was very late in the night.”
The two-man team sent by the animal welfare outfit were able to safely extract the snake from the scooter.
It is presumed that the snake climbed into the scooter seeking shelter from the rain.
Wasim Akram of Wildlife SOS (Special Projects) said, “Last week, we rescued a monitor lizard from the National Technical Research Organisation campus, which is located just a few minutes away from this neighbourhood.”
Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder and CEO of Wildlife SOS, said: “During the monsoon, many reptiles struggle to find a safe habitat in the deforested cities. Growing habitat destruction is rapidly blurring the lines between cities and forests. Consequently, the wildlife living in proximity to such areas have no choice but to forage and seek shelter in urban habitats.”
“Most snakes are burrowing reptiles and they spend most of their time underground, but during the monsoon their hiding places usually get flooded and they are forced to venture into human habitations,” Mr. Satyanarayan added.
