Telangana: Over 10,000 snakes rescued in a year!

Hyderabad-based FOSS along with other stakeholders on track to achieve zero snakebite deaths in Telangana by 2030

Hyderabad: In a remarkable effort at conservation of snakes and towards achieving zero snakebite deaths in Telangana by 2030, the Hyderabad-based Friends of Snakes Society (FOSS) has collaborated with multiple stakeholders including Forest Department and people in general to rehabilitate 10,282 snakes in Hyderabad and elsewhere in 2023.

The rehabilitation of over 10,000 snakes was taken up by way of attending anywhere from 200 to 300 SOS (distress) calls per day from general public, related to snake incursion in their homes and offices. Such distress calls get routed to FOSS expert snake rescuers, who safely and ethically rescue the reptiles.

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“Apart from attending such rescue calls, our team of experts participate in snake awareness workshops, which go a long way in mitigating snake deaths and snake bites. Since 1995, we have been at the forefront of snake conservation and consistently increasing our efforts to protect these misunderstood creatures,” says Avinash Visvanathan, General Secretary, FOSS.

Way back in 2014, the FOSS had managed to rescue 3,151 snakes and since then the number of such rescues have steadily grown, reaching 10,282 snakes in 2023. All the rescued snakes are relocated to suitable forest areas with the help of Telangana Forest Department.

“Our volunteers are dedicated to the cause of conserving the snake species. In 2023, a total of 25 different snake species were rescued and among them, 46 per cent were Spectacled Cobras, 27 per cent were Rat Snakes, 10 per cent were Checkered Keelbacks, 4 per cent Russell’s Vipers, and 4 per cent were Bronzeback Tree Snakes. The remaining 9 per cent consisted of twenty other species,” FOSS said.

Three pythons rescued from single location

On February 4, 2024, residents of Defence Colony, Langar Houz, spotted three large pythons and reported FOSS through its emergency helpline (8374233366). Responding to the SOS calls, FOSS members Vinay and Varaprasad reached the location and successfully rescued the three pythons, each measuring approximately 7 feet.

In TS and surrounding regions, the Indian Rock Pythons are known to enter their mating season during February, with egg-laying occurring in April and May. Following a two-month incubation period, up to 15 hatchlings emerge in July and August. The increased snake activity during mating season often leads them to cover substantial distances in search of mates, potentially bringing them into close proximity to human habitation.