Snake sneak-ins jump, Amdavadis recoil in horror
Ahmedabad: Snakeskin shoes? No,
snakes
in shoes.
Monsoon
does spring some scaly surprises, leaving people at the receiving end recoiling in horror. The number of calls
snake rescuers
get have gone up considerably with the onset of rains, with citizens reporting the presence of unwanted slithery guests in the unlikeliest of places.Lately, venomous and non-venomous varieties have been found coiled inside footwear, ringed in truck tyres, from electricity meter boxes, inside workshops and schools, from under car hoods and two-wheelers.
Since the arrival of monsoon, Ahmedabad-based NGO Wildlife Rescue Team alone has rescued over 200 snakes. Arvind Parmar, convener of the voluntary organization says, “Like in every monsoon, we have been getting calls every day this season too. We have rescued over 200 snakes in the past month. These
reptiles
are released in the thick undergrowth around the Narmada canal.” Since its formation, the NGO has rescued and released 10,000, Parmar says.
Parmar explains that it’s common for snakes to emerge from their habitats during the rainy season. One of the key reasons behind the increased sightings is their habitat getting waterlogged due to which they move any dry place they can find. “These could be homes, school buildings, workshops and even vehicles.”
Another reason is that food is found in abundance during monsoon. “Waterlogging in their habitat and availability of prey draw snakes closer to human habitat during rains,” he says. Most varieties of snakes hibernate for about four months in winter, which is why the number of rescue calls reduces considerably during the cold season, Parmar adds.
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