Cooch Behar, Aug. 27: One beat officer, three forest guards and 10 villagers grappled and struggled for four hours to rescue a 14-feet-long rock python that got stuck in between the boulders on the bank of the Kaljani this morning.
The huge reptile that lunged and tried to sink its teeth into its rescuers was ultimately released in the Patlakhawa forest where it slithered away into the thick undergrowth.
“Our division has captured snakes, pythons as well, in the past but we have never come across such a giant one. Our staff and the villagers took a great risk in tackling such a huge python. In the end we are happy that we could successfully rescue it without injuries to us or to the reptile and release it in the wild,” said additional divisional forest officer S.K. Barui.
He said about 7am, the divisional forest office here received a message that a huge snake had been trapped among the boulders of the Kaljani river near the village — 15km from here — that shares the river’s name.
“The snake was spotted yesterday evening when it was lying trapped between the boulders and wire meshing of the spur created by the irrigation department. Beat officer Mansur Ali left for the spot with forest guards Manoj Chowdhury, Joykanta Roy and Nimu Pal,” Barui said.
By the time the foresters reached the spot, a large crowd had gathered. “The huge serpent was raising its head and trying to free its coils in vain,” the beat officer said.
It was quite a struggle to get such a huge reptile into a sack as the python was very feisty and refused to be handled. Although python is non-venomous and kills by constriction, it has rows of needle-sharp teeth on both jaws.
“It was a very angry snake that we encountered. Its tail was caught in the wire mesh and as we tried to get close to it, it kept striking at us. We managed to secure the head with a rope and while others held on to its muscular coils, one of us got into the water and freed its tail,” said Manoj.
The action was not over yet. When the python was released from the sack alongside a forest road, it immediately lunged at its rescuers.
Barui said the python had been washed down from the foothills in the Dooars as it mainly preferred hilly terrain. “It is a huge snake, capable of swallowing a small deer,” he said.
Courtesy: The Telegraph |
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