With the city receiving heavy rain over the past week, multiple sightings of snakes across the city have been keeping the Wildlife SOS team on their toes.
“Snakes making their way into buildings and residences is a common occurrence during the rainy season. Most snakes are burrowing reptiles and they spend most of their time underground, but during monsoon their homes get destroyed due to flooding and are forced to venture into human habitations, in search of rodents and lizards,” said Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder and CEO of Wildlife SOS.
The latest sighting was reported on Thursday when the NGO received a panicked call on their 24-hour rescue helpline (+91-9871963535) about a snake in Nardan Basti, Tughlakabad.
An eight-foot-long Indian rock python constrictor was found nestled in a hole in the boundary wall of a residential colony.
“Two snake handlers rushed to the spot and rescued the snake. Indian rock pythons face extreme threat due to prevalent misunderstanding and ignorance among public. It is often confused with the venomous Russell’s viper,” noted a release issued by the group.
Another call was received from Neighbourhood Woof, a shelter for stray dogs in Prahladpur, Rohini. A nearly three-foot-long cobra had wandered into the premises and had made its way into the staff room.
Wildlife SOS rescuers were able to safely catch the cobra. Both snakes are under observation and will soon be released back into the wild, said the NGO.
“Dealing with snakes, especially venomous species, can be quite challenging, but our team is trained to handle and carry out such sensitive operations. We request people to immediately report any such situations on our helpline number,” said Wasim Akram, manager of Wildlife SOS Special Projects.
