9-foot python slithers its way into Sai Baba ashram

Visitors to the Sathya Sai Baba Ashram in Kadugodi received a slithery surprise on Tuesday night when they stumbled upon a 9-foot-long Indian rock python, which wildlife experts say is a rare phenomenon in Bengaluru.

The serpent, weighing about 12 kg, was found coiled on the compound wall of the ashram, hiding itself behind the bougainvillea plants. Their excited cries quickly invited many inquisitive onlookers who soon raised an alarm. The BBMP Control Room, too, was rattled with calls about the massive python, following which wildlife rescuers were alerted.

Wildlife rescuer C S Nagabhushan, who lives in Hoskote, rushed to the ashram and captured the snake. He said he was amazed to see the huge reptile. “My first impression when I received a call was that it could be a rat snake, which resembles a python. The reason for doubting the input was that Bengaluru is no more a habitat for pythons.

Pollution and the shrinking greenery have ruined their habitats,” he observed. He packed the snake in a bag and took it to an expert to assess how it made its way into the city. He said that most of the time such big snakes were left in the open in Bengaluru by either some snake charmers, circus companies or smugglers.

“Sometimes snakes climb onto trucks in forested areas and slither out in cities. I believe this snake might have reached Bengaluru that way. In Karnataka, pythons are found predominantly in Kolar, Shivamogga and parts of the Western Ghats region.”

To identify whether it was a pet reptile, the rescuer took it to the BBMP’s forest division. Nagabhushan said he would later release the creature into the Bannerghatta forest at night, as pythons prey only in the dark.

Only two pythons had been spotted in Bengaluru in the past eight years – at St John’s Hospital and in Kengeri, according to wildlife experts.
DH News Service