NAVI MUMBAI: A seven-foot-long, female Indian rock python was rescued from Airoli bridge, around 8 p.m. on Sunday. It was rescued by a team from the Plant & Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) and released into the wild by 10.30 a.m. on Monday.
On Sunday evening, Atharva Navin Chavan, 17, a resident of Tilak Nagar, Chembur, was on his way home after meeting a friend at Airoli, when he spotted the snake in the middle of the road and called the PAWS helpline. He was guided to move the snake from the middle of the road to the side with the help of a stick. “The snake was near the Airoli bridge, which has major traffic movement. It could have come under the wheels of any vehicle,” said Sunish Subramanian Kunju, Secretary, PAWS. By the time the PAWS team reached the spot, Mr. Chavan had already moved the python. “The python is healthy. We released it into the wild after informing the forest officer,” said Mr. Kunju. By law, the team is not supposed to reveal where the snake was released.
Indian rock pythons are among the top protected predator species of snakes found in cities like Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane. They are facing a threat in urban landscapes mainly because of climate change and habitat loss, which influences their general movement and migrating pattern. Often, they are killed in road accidents or by people whose habitats they enter.
PAWS receives five to six calls daily for animal-related problems, including rescue operations. In the past two months, it has rescued five pythons including a 12-foot-long one rescued from Airoli last month. PAWS can be reached on 9833480388.
