Students and staff at a private school in Jammu and Kashmir received a shock of their life when they spotted a four-foot long rat snake wandering in the school garden. The principal, fearing for the safety of children, alerted the Wildlife SOS team operating out of the state.
Aaliya Mir, a Wildlife SOS Manager & Education Officer, rushed to the location to rescue the serpent. She carefully transferred the snake into a transport carrier.
Following the event, Mir also conducted an awareness session to impart some knowledge about the largely misunderstood reptile to the students and staff.
She said that rat snakes (Ptyas mucosa) are commonly found in urban areas but are often mistaken as cobras because of their similar appearance.
"Though harmless, rat snakes are swift and easily excitable and may bite if threatened. Therefore, we need to exercise caution while carrying out such rescues. We even scanned the entire neighbourhood on the request of the school authorities who fear that there are more snakes in the area," she said.
The snake is currently under observation and will soon be released back into its natural habitat.
Sightings of rat snakes are increasing these days as the reptiles often wander into human habitation due to depletion of natural prey base.
"We are grateful to the school authorities for their cooperation. It is extremely important for people to remain sensitive to the many wild species that we share a habitat with. Rat snakes are a non-venomous snake species that primarily feed on rodents, toads, small birds, lizards and eggs. Often, people tend to panic on spotting a snake as not everyone can distinguish the venomous ones from non-venomous ones," said Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder and CEO of Wildlife SOS.
Check out the pictures here:
Wildlife SOS, a conservation non-profit in India established in 1998, aims at rescuing and rehabilitating wildlife in distress in the country. It has a team of well-equipped experts handy in case of any wild animal need rescue. They also conduct search operation of the premises, perimeter study, SWOT Analysis & interaction with the community to raise awareness on urban wildlife and encourage peaceful coexistence.
Recently, a five-foot black-headed Royal Snake (spalerosophis atriceps) was rescued by WSOS officials from Indian Oil Apartments in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The maintenance staff had discovered the reptile stuck in a crevice.
"Snakes making their way into buildings and residences is a common occurrence during the summer months. Since reptiles are cold-blooded their body temperature varies with that of the environment, therefore they are unable to self-regulate their temperature if they get too warm. To combat this they often find places to retreat to during the hottest time of the day, which often can be a cold concrete floor or a hole in a wall," Satyanarayan had said following the incident.
