Highly venomous common krait snake rescued from residence near Aravallis

The snake seemed to be asleep on the sofa but it started slithering towards a bedroom when the light was switched on, according to the residents. The residence is on the periphery of a dense jungle

A four-foot-long common krait — a highly venomous snake native to the Aravallis — was rescued by officials of the wildlife department from a house in Gadoli Khurd village in Sector 9 on Pataudi Road, early on Thursday.

The snake was rescued and released in the Aravallis.

Officials said that the male snake, weighing around one kilogram, was kept under observation for three hours before it was released in the Aravallis, under the supervision of the wildlife department.

A 10-year-old girl was the first to notice the snake, after feeling the reptile move across her chest.

Anil Gandas, a wildlife expert who led the rescue operation, said he received a call from 34-year-old Jai Kishan, an executive of a multinational company who lived in the village around 2.30am on Thursday. According to Gandas, he was told that the snake seemed to be asleep on the sofa but it started slithering towards a bedroom when the light was switched on. The residence is on the periphery of a dense jungle.

Gandas, who lives in the same village, reached the spot within 10 minutes. “There was a huge crowd when I got there. The snake was on the bed in the bedroom at the residence,” he said.

Ten-year-old Avantika, a class 5 student of a private school, said that she was sleeping on a sofa, adjacent to her father’s bed. “Around 2.30am, I woke up after I felt something was moving across me. I tried to throw it away but the movement continued over and over. I thought that a frog had jumped on my sofa but after a few minutes, I realised that it was a snake,” she said.

This is the eleventh snake to be rescued this month from a residence in Gurugram. Snake sightings in Gurugram’s residential areas, particularly inside houses, have become commonplace over the past few years, according to the district wildlife department. In the last 10 years, there have been 1,027 instances of snake rescue, on average, every year.

According to wildlife experts, 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.

Wildlife officials said that the common krait was released in the Aravallis in the morning.

Members of the household, where the snake was found, raised the alarm as soon as they spotted the snake.

“My wife and I were in panic. We all came out of the house and stood outside until Gandas reached. Even after the rescue, we were unable to enter the room. Except for my daughter, all of us were scared. We were lucky enough that the snake did not bite any of us. I was scared and worried about the safety of my family till the rescue team took it away. It was the first time I saw a snake, this big, up close. It was huge,” said Kishan.

The 10-year-old who found the snake said that she watches wildlife shows on television frequently but having a first-hand encounter was a different experience.