It was Monday morning, and the staff at Wildlife SOS’ Delhi office were settling in for another week of work. At 12:40 am, the hotline rang for the first rescue of the week.
The person on the other end of the line sounded distressed and reported that she was calling from the Tughlaqabad Air Force Station and a snake had been spotted on the station premises. Another staff member had inadvertently stumbled upon the serpent in the station’s System and Lab Testing room. He had opened the wiring box in the room and, much to his surprise, found a rather long brown snake coiled among the wires. Unable to identify the snake themselves, and naturally concerned, they had dialed Wildlife SOS’ wildlife rescue helpline to report the reptilian discovery.
Two trained members of our rescue team- Lokesh and Suraj- carrying the necessary equipment and first aid. On arrival, they searched the room and found the snake hiding under some boxes. They identified it as a rat snake (Ptyas mucosa).
The rat snake does not pose a threat to humans and is protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Although a nonvenomous snake, the rat snake is quick and easily excitable, and may bite if threatened, so the trained team ensured that the reptile was carefully removed without cornering or alarming it too much to avoid any accidents.
The 4.5 ft snake was taken to Wildlife SOS’ Gurgaon centre, where it was found to be healthy enough to release.
The employees at the air force station were relieved that the snake was caught and expressed gratitude to the Wildlife SOS team for their timely response and safe rescue operation.
Junior Warrant Officer Ajmer Singh had this to say, “The rescue team reached promptly, within half-an-hour of the call being made. The entire operation was efficiently and safely carried out. We are grateful to the team at Wildlife SOS for a well-executed rescue.”
The snake has been released into its natural habitat.
Wildlife SOS runs the only 24-hour wildlife rescue hotline for Delhi and the National Capital Region. If you come across wildlife in distress in your locality, please do not hesitate to call our rescue team at 9871963535.
