HINDUSTAN TIMES (New Delhi, India) 01 July 08 Monsoon awakens reptiles
It is not just you but the early onset of monsoon has caught unawares the reptile world too. The number of snakes and other reptiles venturing out of their burrows and crevasses and wandering into homes across the city has doubled compared to last year.
During May and June this year, 90 snakes were rescued and rehabilitated in the wilds after being found in unexpected places like behind the shoe-racks or under the refrigerators. Last year, the figure was 40.
"On an average, we have to rescue a couple of snakes every day. The rain disturbs the habitats of the reptiles, so they are forced out.
This annual cycle has started much earlier this year," said Kartick Satyanarayan, head of Wildlife SOS, which runs the city's only 24-hour snake rescue helpline. With rain, the number of prey species for snakes, like frogs, has also increased.
"The early rain has been a fillip to the food-chain," he said. Most snakes have been relocated at the Asola Sancturay.
Going by numbers, instances of snakes rescued from human settlements have been steadily on the rise in the For instance, the whole of 2006, 183 snakes were rescued from various residential areas across the city. Within the first seven months in 2007, the number stood at 191.
While the rescuers attribute this to the increased awareness among people about rehabilitation of snake and bursting of myths about the supposed dangers of snakes, there is also concern that this might be a sign of greater distress. "The so-called developmental activates like transport links, airports, malls, etc., have been eating into their habitat, so they are helplessly emerging in human settlements," said wildlife filmmaker Himanshu Malhotra. One of the indicators of this phenomenon is the increased spotting of monitor lizard, locally called gohera.
"The more you take away urban green space, you see more of monitor lizards emerging in people's houses," he said. Incidentally, apart from snakes, this time there is also a significant increase in the number of monitor lizards rescued from homes of frightened residents.
"People get very scared because there is a myth that they are venomous. Also, they resemble snakes in appearance," Satyanarayan said.
Call snake helpline: 09871963535.
Monsoon awakens reptiles