KOCHI: Fear. This might be the first emotion that enters our mind when we spot a snake. And without trying to know whether or not it is venomous, people might end up killing it. But animal and nature lover Vidya Raju, 59, believes that every creation of God deserves to live and for decades she has been donning the role of a snake rescuer, a rare task by a woman.
“I have seen a lot of people killing snakes, mainly because of a lack of awareness. Long back, when I was attending a camp of World Wide Fund for Nature, I saw a person rescuing a snake and it was an inspirational moment for me,” Vidya said. Since then, she has rescued and saved more than 900 snakes. Vidya, a native of Bihar came to Kochi six years ago, with her husband Raju, a Navy commodore who retired three years ago.
Vidya gets calls from even the outskirts of the city to catch snakes. “As soon as I get a call I inform the Forest Department. I rescue the snake and hand it over to them. If it is a rat snake or a non-venomous one, I release it in the forest,” she said. She noted that snakes are frequently spotted in Katari Bagh in the Naval Base where she lived before her husband’s retirement, but people don’t kill them even if its a python.
“After shifting to Panampilly Nagar, I started going out for snake rescuing. I am happy that many people in the city call me when they spot a snake in their home. This means they don’t want to kill it, which is a sign of goodness,” she added.
Vidya has travelled to various placed in town and also to the outskirts like Vypin and Mattancherry. Though most of the snakes she has caught are not poisonous, she has also rescued pythons and vipers. “Whenever I go to catch a venomous snake I take precautionary measures, but if it is a rat snake or similar one, I catch it with my bare hands. I have never injected anti-venom till now though I have been bitten a couple of times,” she said. She highlighted that a proper study and research is required to understand the varieties of snakes.
To spread awareness on this, she has been taking classes in various schools in the city on snake rescuing, the dos and don’ts. Viday is also a fond bird watcher and volunteer of Cochin Nature Historic Society, her session also include lessons on it. “Along with inculcating knowledge on how to deal with snakes and the various precautions to be taken, I motivate kids to try bird watching,” she said.
Vidya believes that each of God’s creation needs to be respected and the satisfaction she gets while saving a snake is her reward. Available 24x7 to visit any place in the city for snake rescuing, Vidya, a mother of two, noted that her family’s support is her biggest strength.