Animal rescuers come to the help of seven non-venomous snakes and an abandoned companion turtle during cyclone Nisarga in the city.
Though the city largely escaped damage due to the cyclone and it affected Raigad and other coastal parts of the state, the city experienced consistent rains, which brought snakes out of rat holes and down from trees whether they lived.
Plant and Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) and Amma Care Foundation (ACF) received calls from alert citizens on their helpline and their volunteers rescued the reptiles from areas of Mulund, Bhandup and Borivali. The snakes rescued were a red sand boa, two common sand boas, three bronzeback tree snake and a rat snake. Usually during rains, we get calls to rescue one of two snakes, but in the past two days there were more calls,” says Sunish Subramaniam, founder of PAWS.
Model and actor Ashmeet Brar, an animal lover who feeds community animals in Nagardas Road, Andheri came across a cardboard box when she had gone on her feeding rounds. A closer inspection revealed there was a soft-shell turtle stuffed inside the small box, just enough to fit the creature. Dogs are usually near the dustbin where she goes to feed and the turtle was in the box a little away.
“People who abandon must have been aware that she is a regular feeder and will find it and do the needful,” says Subramaniam adding that people keep this turtle as pet when it is small though it is illegal to do so under Wildlife Protection Act. “When they grow in size people find it difficult to keep them at home and abandon them,” he said.
The rescues were taken to veterinarian as is the standard procedure and then relocated. The soft-shell turtle was released into a water body and the snakes into areas with green cover where they can survive.
