KOCHI: Residents in the city have been complaining about an increase in the presence of pythons. The slithering serpents sneak into the houses and are found curled up under the bed, in corners of the room and in the backyard leaving residents in panic.
The authorised snake rescuers trained by the forest department said they have rescued four pythons from the Fort Kochi area, two each from Vypin and Perandoor Canal area in Kadavanthra and one from Kalamassery during the past two weeks.
However, the forest department rubbishes claims that there is an increase in python population in the city.
“There is no scientific data to prove an increase in python population in the city. I agree that most of the snakes rescued by us are pythons. But Kochi is a natural habitat of the species. Pythons like to stay around wetlands and close to water bodies. You can find them in burrows near drains, canals and marshy areas. We feel an increase in population because there is more reporting. Around 80% of the people contact the Sarpa App if they sight a snake,” said Ernakulam Divisional Forest Officer (Flying Squad) Manu Sathyan.
There are around 250 trained snake rescuers in Ernakulam district and they rescue around 1,500 snakes a year. If an alert is sent to the Sarpa App, the rescuers will communicate through a WhatsApp group and they reach the spot immediately.
The rescued reptiles are handed over to the Special Forest Protection Team in Kodanad who release them in the wild at various locations. Though Forest authorities are releasing snakes caught from the city in the forest areas of Malayattoor and Kothamangalam, experts say it is not a scientific solution. Snakes have a territory and releasing the reptiles caught from the city in the forest will lead to territorial conflict, said a biodiversity expert.
“Snake rescue is not a dangerous mission now as we are trained to trap them scientifically. We use a PVC pipe attached to a black bag. Once it encounters a human being, the snake will try to hide.
The PVC pipe will appear as a burrow for the snake which will curl inside it. We never catch the snake by its head as it will be aggressive. There are more pythons in Ernakulam city area while cobras are common in the inland areas,” said Srinivas P Kamath, a snake rescuer in Fort Kochi.
“There is no scientific data to prove an increase in the population of pythons. People who complain about wild animal menace are ignoring the shrinking habitat. Thanks to social media, the news about a snake rescue will spread across the state in minutes.
The human population in Kochi has been increasing rapidly and wetlands are being converted to housing areas. There were plenty of uninhabited marshy areas around Kochi a decade ago which have now become populated. When the human population expands where will the wild animals go?” asked herpetologist Dr Sandeep Das.
“We have encroached on the habitat of pythons. If there is an increase in the snake population, we are contributing to it. Our waste management system is not proper and this has led to an increase in the rat population. When there is enough prey available naturally predators will come. Pythons prefer a wetland habitat and they hunt in water also,” he said.
Snakes rescued in Ernakulam district 2023
Indian Rock Python: 893
Spectacled Cobra: 401
Rat snake: 315
Checkered keelback: 113
Russell’s viper: 90
Wolf snake: 88
Montane trinket: 15
Common Krait: 11
2024
(January 1 to October 31)
Indian Rock Python: 642
Rat snake: 264
Spectacled cobra: 223
Checkered keelback: 48
Wolf snake: 47
Common krait: 12
Montane Trinket snake: 11