Non-Venomous, albino snake makes rare appearance in Mumbai

In what could be the first such discovery from Mumbai, animal activists from NGO Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare (RAWW) rescued an albino common kukri, a nonvenomous snake, from Mulund, and released it into the wild.

Harshit Savla, a rescuer with RAWW, received a phone call on Monday from a local informing him about a snake he found near Mulund station and managed to catch in a jar. "When we reached the spot, the caller was nowhere and his phone was switched off," said Savla, adding that they realised that understanding that the snake was uncommon, the man decided to run away.

With the help of RAWW network, they were able to trace the person the day after and he claimed he had released the snake. "When we told him we'd call the forest department who will start a probe, he got scared and asked us for some time and brought the snake along with him," said Pawan Sharma, president of RAWW.

Once they got the snake, they documented it, taking ample photographs, and checked it for injuries. When they saw that it was fine, they released it after alerting the forest department.

Since the common kukri is a nocturnal snake, the rescuers released it in its natural habitat late on Tuesday evening. "We have been rescuing snakes for a long time and it is for the first time we have come across an albino common kukri, which is only found in Andaman and Nicobar Islands," Sharma said.

Herpetologist Kedar Bhide said, "Albinism is a genetic condition. The snakes lose their camouflage and become easy to prey on. If you see more albino individuals in the wild, it's worrisome as that means more inbreeding."