HOSUR: A government veterinary doctor assisted a Russell’s viper to give birth to 35 babies on a cattle farm in Hosur on Sunday.
Vipers are ovoviviparous, which means the embryos develop inside eggs that remain inside the mother’s body until they are ready to hatch.
Veterinary doctor Saravanan received a call from residents of Hosur industrial town regarding a snake in the area. He rushed to the spot and found a pregnant Russell’s viper. He captured the snake and took it to a cattle farm, where the snake gave birth to 35 young ones in the wee hours of Sunday.
It took the mother around three hours to deliver the babies. He said the snakes would be released into the forest with the help of the forest department.
Saravanan also offers training to the forest department officials about differentiating poisonous and non-poisonous varieties of snakes and ways to rescue them safely from the residential areas.
Saravanan, who has been serving in the government department for two decades, is attached to the Hosur Government Cattle Farm, one of the largest farms in Asia.
He is in charge of the research-oriented Embryo Transfer Laboratory on the farm.
Talking to Express, Saravanan said he has been rescuing snakes for the past 15 years and he considered it social service. The main intention of rescuing snakes is to save them from being killed by the public, who are afraid of them.