BENGALURU: Bengaluru has lost one of its most recognised snake rescue volunteers, Md Anees, 55, who passed away at a private hospital in the city on Tuesday. Anees was suffering from breathlessness for close to 12 days and had been hospitalised following a respiratory infection. For decades, Anees was known across the city for rescuing snakes from homes, residential areas and public spaces, often risking his own safety in the process.
Anees’ close friend and classmate from St Germain’s, Md Shakeel, recalled that the former carried out his first snake rescue when he was just 17. From then until his last rescue nearly four years ago, Anees rescued thousands of snakes and released them into the wild, mainly at the Bannerghatta National Park.
Anees had also briefly worked at the Snake Park in Chennai alongside renowned herpetologist Romulus Whitaker. Friends remembered him as a fearless snake rescue specialist who handled challenging situations with courage and patience. His friend and rescue associate said Anees had been bitten by snakes on a few occasions but survived those incidents.
“He had immense respect for snakes and always worked to safely rescue and release them,” he said. “My father rescued snakes from perhaps the age of about 17-years and he would visit a farmhouse and rescue them from there during the early years,” his son Shoaib told TNIE. Anees is survived by his wife Tayiba and children Shoaib and Simrah. He will be laid to rest on Thursday afternoon.
