Wildlife SOS's Aaliya Mir rescued a snake from the grounds of a school in J&K's Ganderbal district
Incredible pictures show how a snake catcher calmly rescued a nearly four-foot snake from a private school in Jammu and Kashmir's Ganderbal district. The snake was spotted on the grounds of a school in Mansabal and rescued by a member of the conservation NGO Wildlife SOS. It is currently under observation and will soon be released back into its natural habitat.
The sighting of the snake caused quite a stir among students and staff at the school, Wildlife SOS said in a statement to the press. Fearing for the safety of the students, the principal immediately reported the incident to the Wildlife SOS team operating out of the state.
The NGO's Aaliya Mir rushed to the location to carry out the rescue operation. She carefully transferred the snake into a transport carrier, much to everyone's relief, and removed it from the property.
Turns out, the snake was a rat snake (Ptyas mucosa), also known as the Oriental rat snake. These reptiles are a highly adaptable species and are commonly found in urban areas. They often wander into areas inhabited by humans due to depletion of natural prey base, says Wildlife SOS. Due to their resemblance to cobras, this species is often misidentified as the highly venomous snake and is met with hostility and fear.
"Though harmless, rat snakes are swift and easily excitable and may bite if threatened. Therefore, we need to exercise caution while carrying out such rescues," Aaliya Mir, Wildlife SOS Manager and Education Officer said. "We even scanned the entire neighbourhood on the request of the school authorities who fear that there are more snakes in the area."
"It is extremely important for people to remain sensitive to the many wild species that we share a habitat with," Kartick Satyanarayan, Co-founder and CEO of Wildlife SOS said. "Rat snakes are a non-venomous snake species that primarily feed on rodents, toads, small birds, lizards and eggs. Often, people tend to panic on spotting a snake as not everyone can distinguish the venomous ones from non-venomous ones."
Over the weekend, Wildlife SOS rescued a snake from a residential building in Uttar Pradesh's Noida.
The sighting of the snake caused quite a stir among students and staff at the school, Wildlife SOS said in a statement to the press. Fearing for the safety of the students, the principal immediately reported the incident to the Wildlife SOS team operating out of the state.
The NGO's Aaliya Mir rushed to the location to carry out the rescue operation. She carefully transferred the snake into a transport carrier, much to everyone's relief, and removed it from the property.
Sighting of the four-foot snake caused quite a stir among students and staff at the school in Ganderbal district's Mansabal
Due to their resemblance to cobras, rat snakes are often misidentified as the highly venomous snake (Representational Image)
"It is extremely important for people to remain sensitive to the many wild species that we share a habitat with," Kartick Satyanarayan, Co-founder and CEO of Wildlife SOS said. "Rat snakes are a non-venomous snake species that primarily feed on rodents, toads, small birds, lizards and eggs. Often, people tend to panic on spotting a snake as not everyone can distinguish the venomous ones from non-venomous ones."
Over the weekend, Wildlife SOS rescued a snake from a residential building in Uttar Pradesh's Noida.
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