Venomous krait, python rescued by Wildlife SOS in Agra

Agra, Sep 29 (IANS) Members of a family in the Shastripuram colony here panicked when they saw a deadly common krait cozily perched in their toilet.They informed the Wildlife SOS on its helpline, following which a two-member team captured the slithering reptile after almost two hours of struggle.Things took a challenging turn when the snake, identified as a venomous krait, disappeared behind the toilet sink. The team had to remove the commode entirely before safely extricating the snake, which was later released into its natural habitat.Shivani Sharma, the caller, said, "We were shocked to see the snake in our bathroom and instinctively locked the door. We are grateful to the Wildlife SOS team for helping us out in this emergency situation."In another incident, a seven-foot long Indian rock python was found entangled in a net near the runway at the Agra Air Force Station. The Wildlife SOS team had to carefully cut the synthetic netting that was wound around the python's body in order to free it. The python was severely dehydrated and is currently kept under medical observation.Baiju Raj M.V., Director (Conservation Projects) at Wildlife SOS, said, "The python was stuck at a very sensitive point and the slightest tugging could have injured its neck. Over the years, we have rescued several snakes from synthetic garden nettings and wire meshes. Unsuspecting reptiles, birds and small mammals often get trapped in these nets and die due to suffocation or strangulation."Kartick Satyanarayan, Co-founder of Wildlife SOS, said, "Handling snakes can be quite challenging, especially when they get stuck or trapped. We are happy to see that people are showing compassion towards these highly misunderstood reptiles by reaching out to us for help. Our rescue team is trained to deal with any given situation in the interest of public safety and protection of urban wildlife."
--IANS bk/arm