Thailand's capital has a python problem: Snakes are invading homes

Bangkok Snake Problem: The emergency hotline operator receives a call for assistance every 15 minutes on average, and 60,000 snakes are removed annually.

Thailand capital Bangkok’s 199 hotline has been receiving a call every 15 minutes as citizens seek help in dealing with snakes which enter their homes, averaging more than 100 cases a day, the helpline said. Most of the snakes are pythons and cobras and the rescue workers have more than 90 per cent success rate in catching the snakes, the helpline centre further informed.

Bangkok Snake Problem: Around 60,000 snakes are removed in Bangkok every year. 

Around 200 calls are made each day in Bangkok, asking the emergency hotline for help with pests, including snakes and wasps. Nearly half of the calls are about snakes, Bangkok Post reported.

“On average, a report is made every 15 minutes throughout every 24-hour period,” an operator told Bangkok Post.

Bangkok has been home to snakes for a long time and their numbers are increasing rapidly resulting in distress for Thai people. Almost eighty per cent of the time the snake calls are for pythons who are in search of a meal. Most pythons in Thailand belong to the reticulated variety, world’s longest reptile, with the occasional more docile Burmese python.

Once the snakes are caught, they are usually sent to the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation to be released back into the wild.