Snakes in Bangalore, beware!

Summer is when slithering creatures crawl out of their dwelling and haunt air-conditioned houses and offices. Several incidents have been reported where strange reptiles have found their way into domestic households, scaring the residents out of their wits.

The wildlife cell of Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) receives at least 25 calls everyday, seeking help or complaining about a reptile's entry into a residence.

On Saturday, the wildlife cell received a call from the residence of an IAS officer at HSR Layout. A cobra had entered officer Agawane's house. The wildlife team got there on time to rescue it.

There are 33 BBMP wildlife volunteers who help residents capture reptiles entering their homes. During summer, snakes crawl out of their nests and come in search of cool places, said head of wildlife cell, R Sharath Babu.

In Bangalore, three species of snakes are predominant: Rat snake that is non-venomous and the venomous cobra and Russell's viper.

A volunteer from the BBMP wildlife cell pointed out that, in summer, the snakes go in search of cool places because of the rise in temperature. They enter a garage, a house or any place they find shade.

"Recently, a cobra chose a moped belonging to a doctor from Jayadeva Cardio Hospital to hide from the heat," he said.

The volunteer also advised the public not to light fire to vacant sites during summer.

"Already, the temperature is high and when people light fire to vacant sites, the heat forces reptiles to come out of their nests. This is when they enter domestic households," he said.

Cobra is god
Several incidents have been reported in which people kill these rare species out of fear. However, killing of cobras is not prevalent in India.

"Rarely do people kill the cobra because they believe in 'Dhosha' or the curse of the snakes, as many consider cobra a god," the volunteer said.

However, several cases of people killing rat snakes and Russell's Viper have been reported.

It's a popular belief that the human body will decay if it comes in close contact with the snakes, the volunteer added.

He appealed to the people of the city not to engage any unauthorised person in rescuing the wildlife from homes. It may result in harm to the creature or tragic death of men who are trying to rescue it.

"Recently, an unauthorised 21-year-old snake-catcher named Pradeep died after he was bitten by a cobra while giving a demonstration at a school in Kanakapura. There are others like Pradeep who catch snakes without proper training. The BBMP wildlife cell has filed a complaint against an unauthorised snake-catcher named Harish from Sunkadakatte. Recently, Harish, while trying to catch a cobra, was bitten on his thigh and was hospitalised," the volunteer said.

The identification card provided by the BBMP should be checked before people permit men to catch animals, because unauthorised people hurt the creatures while rescuing it, the volunteer said.

The wildlife volunteers recently rescued a rat snake that entered the research laboratory at Central Power Research Institute at Aramane Nagar.