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Wednesday, August 05, 2009

Snakes seeking out drier hiding places in residential places in the rains, has become an annual event

With the onset of rainfall, animal activists are flooded with distress calls to get rid of snakes in their homes. This year has been no different. Snake-rescuers across the suburbs are being flooded with calls on being jolted out of their wits, when they see a snake huddled in their apartments.

“There’s been a large number of snake sightings this year. We rescued a five-and-half feet spectacled cobra from a society compound in Malad Station area,” says snake-rescuer Rajendra Koli from Madh village. “I get rescue calls almost every second day from areas like Marve, Eksar in Borivali, and as far as Wadala too,” he adds. It’s an annual event, quip snakes-rescuers. Flooding of the snake burrows force the snakes to seek out drier hiding places, thus straying as far as the residential areas.

“Last week, we rescued a four-and-a-half feet long rat snake from MIDC compound in Andheri East. It was spotted roaming freely in the compound,” informs Sunish Subramanian, Secretary of Plant and Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) Mumbai. In fact, in the last 45 days, they have rescued around 50 snakes from various areas such as Powai, MIDC in Andheri East, Aarey Colony in Goregaon and Malad.

Some of the snakes rescued from the residential areas, include Spectacled Cobra, Rat Snake, Russell’s Viper, Saw-Scaled Viper, Checkered Keelback, Buff-Striped Keelback, Banded Kukri Snake, Common Wolf Snake, Common Sand Boa, Indian Rock Python and Common Indian Krait. A few days ago, a rat snake was found cuddled up outside one of the homes in Govind Nagar, Malad East.

Says snake-rescuer Niranjan Karnad from Mahindra Nagar in Malad East, who rescued the snake, “Snake had taken shelter outside the house in a corner, where a lot of scrap material was lying for many days. We rescued it, and then released it back in the forest. Many people do not know how to react on spotting a snake. Their immediate instinct is to kill the reptile. That is dangerous, as the snake will sting back in self-defence.”

Snake-rescuers opine that people need to take preventive measures to keep reptiles away from the residential areas. “Clear all the debris, garbage and unkempt bushes in your area, as it is an ideal hiding place for snakes,” concurs Karnad.