Snake slithers into PM garden, removed

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, July 20

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s house had an intruder recently — an Indian rat snake that slithered into the garden at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg. The reptile was slithering sluggishly through lush greens of the capital’s most guarded address when rescuers from Wildlife SOS, specialists in rehabilitating wildlife, retrieved it.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU SPOT A SNAKE

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• Be calm, refrain from engaging. Snakes typically do not interact with humans unless provoked. Slowly and silently distance from the snake
• Call Wildlife SOS emergency hotlines in Delhi NCR ( 91 9871963535), Agra ( 91 9917109666), Vadodara ( 91 9825011117), Jammu and Kashmir ( 91 7006692300, 91 9419778280)
• Mishandling a snake can cause defensive bites which may be fatal if the snake is venomous

“The 3-ft-long rat snake was found on top of a tree in the garden area on the PM house premises on July 8. We were called for assistance. Our three-member rescue team went and rescued the snake. After a thorough medical check-up, it was successfully released,” Neel Banerjee of Wildlife SOS told The Tribune on Saturday. The PM house snake extrication is part of 70 snake retrievals the NGO has done this monsoon including of the Indian cobra, black-headed royal snake, Indian rat snake, Indian wolf snake, common krait, common sand boa and checkered keelback.

Recently, a family in Achheja, Greater Noida, was startled to see an Indian cobra inside their cupboard. “They called us and our rapid response unit safely extricated the nearly 3-ft-long reptile. It was medically examined and released back into the wild,” Suvidha Bhatnagar, Director-Communications, Wildlife SOS, said.

She said the monsoon season typically leads to an increase in snake sightings. While rains bring about much-needed relief to humans, they strip the reptiles of homes as burrows, drains and culverts flood up.