Odishatv Bureau

Cuttack: In what could be said as a rare sight, at least eleven serpents were rescued from the outskirts of the city here on Thursday.

Suspecting presence of a venomous snake inside a heap of stones, one Purnachandra Behura of Phulapokhari under Barang police limits informed a snake helpline to catch hold of the reptile.

A couple of days back, villagers spotted a species of venomous snakes at the backyard of Behura’s residence. However, he did not pay much importance to the incident until his son emphasized on the presence of the snake.

The curious Behura then contacted a snake helpline in an attempt to utilize their expertise. 

“Around fifteen days back, a man in the locality told me that he saw a snake near the place where the stones were heaped. When my son showed me the snapshot of a snake that he had taken from the spot, I consulted with my friends who suggested me to contact a snake helpline, which I did,” said Behura.

The experts rescued eleven snakes including two king cobras, one russel’s viper, three dhaman and five cat snakes. Besides, they also rescued snake eggs from the heap of stones.

As soon as the word spread in the locality, villagers huddled to witness the scene.

According to snake helpline members, it’s a very rare thing to spot different species of snakes at one place. Since some of the snakes rescued are highly poisonous, they are planning to release them into the wild. 

“After we started the search, we only found one species of snakes which was different from what was in the snapshot shown to us. Then I noticed the scales of king cobras lying there. And soon their presence was confirmed,” said Basant Kumar Dash, member of snake helpline.

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