Two Soft Shell Turtles rescued

Saturday , July 11, 2009 . Page 4 . In the neighbourhood

Cobra Released in the natural habitat

Friday . 10 July 2009 . Page 4 . Mumbai

द ग्रेट एस्केप

Tuesday, July 7, 2009
- मुंबई टाइम्स टीम
पावसाच्या जबरदस्त दणक्याने उघड्यावर आलेल्या प्राणी-पक्ष्यांना सोडवण्याचं काम प्राणीप्रेमी संघटनांनी युद्धपातळीवर हाती घेतलंय. वाट पाहायला लावून धुंवाधार बरसलेल्या पावसाने प्राण्यांचंही आयुष्य विस्कळीत केलं. अर्थात, याला पावसासोबत माणूसही जबाबदार आहे. पावसाने झाडांच्या फांद्या तुटू नयेत यासाठी त्या ट्रीम करताना, त्यावरची घरटीही खाली टाकणाऱ्या माणसांच्या बेफिकीर वृत्तीमुळे अनेक पक्ष्यांच्या पिलांना जीव गमावावे लागले आहेत, तर कित्येक पक्षी जखमी झाले आहेत. या पक्ष्यांना तसंच पाण्याने बिळं भरल्यानंतर बाहेर आलेल्या सापांना वाचवण्याचं काम प्राणीप्रेमी संघटना करत आहेत.

पावसाळ्याच्या सुरुवातीला पक्षी अंडी घालतात. पावसाळ्यात येणारं गवत तसंच किडामुंगीसारखं भरपूर खाद्य उपलब्ध होत असल्याने निसर्गाची ती योजना असते. मात्र, पिल्लं बाहेर येण्याचा काळ आणि पावसाने झोडपण्याचा काळ एकत्र आल्याने अनेक पिल्लांना जीव गमवावा लागतो. कोकीळ, खार, तित्तर आणि अशा अनेक पक्ष्यांची सुटका नुकतीच प्लॅण्ट््स अॅण्ड अॅनिमल वेल्फअर सोसायटीने (पॉज) केली आहे. यासोबत भाभा अॅटोमिक रिसर्च ऑर्गनायझेशन म्हणजे बीएआरसी परिसर, भांडूप, मुलुंड या भागातून दहा सापांची सुटका करण्यात आली आहे. बिळात पाणी गेल्याने हे साप लपण्याची जागा शोधत परिसरात फिरत होते. यात चार नाग, चार घोणस आणि दोन धामण यांचा समावेश आहे. रसेल वायपर हे आशियातल्या सर्वात विषारी सापांपैकी आहेत. पवईच्या गोपाल शर्मा स्कूलमध्ये हे साप सापडले. कॉलेजमधली मुलं त्यांच्याशी खेळत होती. मात्र हे प्राणघातक होऊ शकलं असतं, असं 'पॉज'चे सेक्रेटरी सुनिश सुब्रमण्यम यांनी सांगितलं. याशिवाय भांडूप परिसरातून दोन सॉफ्ट शेल कासवांनाही सोडवण्यात आले आहे. आज पुन्हा 'बीएआरसी'मधून आणखी दोन सापांची सुटका करण्यात येणार आहे.

Case Against Cruelty To Animals, Culprit Goes Scot-Free

Monday, July 6, 2009 . Page 24

It is famous that if police get wind of any criminal activity, they never miss a chance to nab the accused. But in the case of animals, particularly horses, which died about a month ago, there has been no real effort. A Mumbai-based NGO, working for the welfare of animal has alleged that, in this case, it has provided all the evidence against the owner of the animals, who can actually be held directly responsible for their death. However, the police are yet to make an arrest.

On June 14, around 2.45 pm, people saw two horses fall off the Andher flyover. After seeing that no one came forward to claim the animals, the Mumbai based NGO took the initiative and filed a complaint with the Andheri Police Station.

The NGO also started its own investigation and found that both the horses belonged to a person named Robert.

This was confirmed by his neighbours, who said that Roberts two horse were seen around in the area after June 14. They had come to know that Robert had later buried one of the horses, while one was admitted to a hospital where it died.

Armed with all this evidence, Sunish Subramanian, founder member of PAWS-Mumbai, who is also the complainant in the case, approached the investigating officers, and offered to help them with the investigations. Even after evidence was provided against Robert, the police had not taken any initiative to interrogate or nab him.

Subramanian is also alleging that some people, mostly youngsters, used to make the horses race along the western Express Highway. The young boys usually chose Sundays for such races.

The Andheri Police have filed an FIR under Section 11 A (1) (2) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960. When contacted, to A.A. Sonawane, Investigation Officer on the case told this newspaper, “We have got information about Robert, but before taking any further steps in the matter, we wanted to have proper and irrefutable evidence in the case.”

10 reptiles rescued in city in just one week

City . Monday , July 6, 2008 . Page 11
Flooding forces cobras, Russells vipers and rat snakes to emerge from burrows in Mulund, Powai; NGO says citizens have nothing to fear

Flooding , due to heavy rain in parts of the city, has forced reptiles to emerge from their burrows. In the last one week, an NGO, Plants and Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), that works for animal welfare has rescued 10 snakes from residential areas in Bhabha Atomic Research Centres (BARC), Bhandup (east), Mulund Colony and Powai. The 10 snakes that were rescued, include four cobras, four Russells vipers and two rat snakes.

PAWS secretary and snake rescuer Sunish Subramanian said, The BARC area is perfect for snakes. In the monsoon , when the burrows they live in get flooded, they begin to stray near buildings and end up entering homes. But people should not panic or try to play with them and should call a snake rescuer when they spot one. It would be better if they keep an eye on it from a distance till the rescuer arrives.
Snake rescuers feel that with the breeding season over and monsoon setting in, baby snakes (snakelets) and snakes are straying into residential areas that offer them hiding places. Snakes need places to hide as they dont like to come out in the open. With more constructions coming up in the city, they are fast losing their natural habitat. Unattended debris, garbage and unkempt bushes offer hiding places to them. People should keep their surroundings clean, dispose debris and close these burrows, said Sunish.

Last week, PAWS volunteers had a scare when they received a call about snakes and on arriving at the spot in Powai, saw a few teenagers handling three snakelets. When we saw the snakelets, we got worried as they were Russells vipers, one of the most deadly reptiles. One bite from it is enough to kill an elephant and these children had handled them and put them in containers to prevent them from escaping. The snakelets were very agitated by this, said Sunish.

Also, two rat snakes were rescued, one from Mulund colony a few days ago and another from Bhandup. Besides , PAWS also came across injured squirrels, cuckoos and other birds that were injured during tree-felling in the same area. The snakes and other rescued wildlife will be released in the forest with the assistance of the forest department on Monday.

It’s raining creepy crawlies

Saturday, July 04, 2009
Residents spot reptiles in homes, hit panic button. Activists release advisory

Thane / Mulund
Narayan Rajpal had an uninvited guest at his Mulund home last Sunday- a brown, eight-feet long rat snake. The creepy crawly wasn’t a party pooper, it showed up accidentally.

“I was sitting outside my home relaxing, since it was a Sunday,” said Rajpal. “Around 11 in the morning, I sensed a movement under a nearby tree and saw a eight-feet long rat snake. I immediately alerted my family.”

The reptile was rescued by volunteers from Plant and Animals Welfare Society, Mumbai (PAWS-mumbai).Rajpal owns a row house and spotting snakes during the monsoon is a common phenomenon.So habituated is Rajpal to such visits that he can now identify snakes and even tell a poisonous one from the other.

“A few years ago, we concretised this ground,” said Rajpal. “The earth below heats up due to the cement. So, for the last few years we have snakes visiting us. Two years age, a pair of cobras popped up.”

Though the rains haven’t announced their formal arrival, snake catchers in Thane, Mulund and Bhandup are already receiving calls from residents, asking them to rescue reptiles from their homes. No wonder animal activists are busy these days.“I rescued 16 snakes in three days. Of these, eight snakes were rescued when the city had its first pre-monsoon showers on June 20,” said Anil Kubal, a Thane resident. “We rescued poisonous varieties like Russell’s vipers, bit vipers and cobras.”

Non-poisonous snakes like rat snakes, checkered kill bags, bronzed back tree snakes, trinkets and common waters snakes between Thane and Ghodbunder were also rescued.

Sunish Subramanian, President of PAWS-Mumbai, rescued two, while Dharnendra Sanghvi of Karuna, an environmental NGO rescued two. Mayur Kamath, renowned activist, too, rescued four snakes.

“This is the mating season, so they come out of their burrows,” said Kamath. “They enter people’s homes n search of warmth after heavy rainfall.” Animal activists are all ready with their volunteers and equipment.

“Every snake friend must take along a volunteer while rescuing a snake because in case of a snake bite, the volunteer can administer the first-aid kit is also mandatory while on a snake rescue mission.”

SOME GYAAN ON REPTILIA

To prevent snakes from crawling into your house
• Remove weeds and overgrown bushes as they provide reptiles an ideal hiding place.
• People having birds as pet should be extra careful.
• Make your house rodent-free.
• Trim branches that touch windows of your house.
• Fill all holes around your house.
• Fit nets on washroom windows and keep doors and windows closed.
• Do not allow any debris to pile up in building premises.

If at all a snake enters
• Do not panic or try to shoo the snake away, it can attack out of fright.
• Immediately call the nearest animal activist.
• Try to give them the exact description of the snake so they can identify its type.
• Keep a watch on the snake till the experts arrive.

Common species found
Pythons, rat snakes, cobras, russell’s vipers, vine snakes, common sand boa, checkered kill bags and common water snakes.

Areas they frequent
• Rat snakes are the most common species and are found in Naupada and near the Thane railway station.
• Snakes also visit NCH Colony and Swapna Nagari in Bhandup. Cobras inhabit the mangroves and are thus common in Thane (E) and Kalwa.
• Kraits need natural habitat. They are found in the national park, Yeoor mountains and Ghodbander road.
• Chequered kill bags are found near water bodies.

First aid
• Clean the wound with a disinfectant. Do not use potassium permanganate.
• Tie a band above the wound. The knot should not be too tight to stop the blood flow. Place a pen or a finger on the wound and then tie a cloth above it.
• The patient must then get immediate medical treatment.
• Provide support to the patient to alleviate fear.

Call for help
• Sunish Subramanian 9833480388, 9892179542

Ignorance is bliss as they play with Russell's Vipers

Saturday, July 4, 2009

TOP STORY

Mumbai: On Thursday, a group of college students playfully showed some Russell's Viper snakes, which they found slithering on the ground outside their college in Powai. That is till they found out that a single bite was enough to kill an elephant.

Shikhar Gupta, 20, and his friends were 'hanging out' after college on Thursday afternoon, when they noticed three little snakes. Intrigued by the tiny snakes, Gupta and his friends playfully picked them up and put them in a bottle.

"The snakes were small. We thought they were baby pythons. At first we put them in a bottle. After some time we put them in a bucket because the snakes were very agitated inside the bottle," Gupta said.

"There is a BMC common ground just outside our college. We were hanging out after college around four in the evening. The snakes probably came out because of an excavation work in the ground," said the student of Chandrabhan Sharma Commerce and Science College in Powai Vihar.About Pics : The students with the snakes outside their college in Powai on Thursday

"We didn't know the snakes were poisonous. We just picked them up by the tail," Shishir Amin, 23, Gupta's friend, said. The students informed the Plant and Animal Welfare Society (PAWS-Mumbai) about the snakes.

"I was surprised and worried to see the children playing with the snakes. They could have died if they had been bitten," Sunish Subramanian, secretary of PAWS-Mumbai, said. "They did not know how venomous the snakes were. When I told them, they got scared. None of them touched the snakes or the bucket after that."

Russell's Viper grows to a length of 1 to 1.5 metres and hibernates in holes under the ground. During heavy rains, these holes get flooded with water, forcing the snakes to come out in the open. Many a times, construction or digging activity forces the snakes to come out of their holes, Subramanian said. He is a snake catcher with the forest department and has rescued 20 snakes this season.

"I found four cobras and a Russell's Viper from BARC in Chembur on Friday. All the snakes will be released in their natural habitat, under the supervision of forest department officials," he said.

The Snakes were small. We thought they were baby pythons. At first we put them in a bottle. But they were very agitated, so we put them in a bucket.