Four venomous snakes rescued in 24 hours from residential areas

Two three-and-a-half-foot common krait snakes were rescued from a house in Surat Nagar Phase-2 on Monday evening, while two spectacled cobras, each six feet long, were rescued on Monday night and Tuesday morning.

Four venomous snakes were rescued from different parts of the city in the past 24 hours and released in forests by officials of the wildlife department.

One of the six-foot-long spectacled cobras that was rescued on Tuesday morning.

Two three-and-a-half-foot common krait snakes were rescued from a house in Surat Nagar Phase-2 on Monday evening, while two spectacled cobras, each six feet long, were rescued on Monday night and Tuesday morning.

Anil Gandas, a wildlife expert who led the rescue operations, said that of the four highly venomous snakes that were rescued, three were rescued from residences and one from an akhara (training facility) in Daulatabad.

“On Monday evening, I received a call from Surat Nagar that there was a snake on the bed in a house. After reaching there, we found that two snakes were hiding near the mattress of the bed where the children sleep. Fortunately, the snakes were rescued before anyone got injured. Two more venomous snakes were rescued and no one was injured in those incidents as well,” said Gandas.

He said that as common krait snakes live near areas with moisture and water, they were released near the Najafgarh drain, while the spectacled cobras were released in the Aravallis near Manesar.

Snake sightings in Gurugram’s residential areas during monsoon season, particularly inside houses, have become commonplace over the past few years, according to the district wildlife department. This monsoon, over 60 snakes were rescued in Gurugram district in July, according to the wildlife department records.

Around 20 species of snakes are native to the Aravallis and four of those, the monocled cobra, spectacled cobra, black cobra and the common krait, are highly venomous. These four snakes are afforded the highest level of protection by law under the Scheduled II species of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.