Flying poisonous snake found in Gosha Mahal, panic prevailed in the area

Hyderabad: In the commercial area of Gosha Mahal, a flying snake was found in the shutter of a timber shop. Members of Friends of Snake Society were contacted by the shop keeper. They caught and preserved it in Sanikpuri Rescue Center.

It may be mentioned that such snake was not seen in A.P. and Telangana earlier. It is usually found in the Western Ghats, Bihar, UP, West Bengal and in the North-Eastern areas.

It is presumed that it must have been brought by timber lorries coming from other states.

The shop owner telephoned the society for help in a distress situation. Panic prevailed in the area.

A member of Friends of Snake Society, who lives near the site, visited the spot expecting it might be a Rat Snake or a Spectacled Cobra, which are common in that region. To his utter disbelief, he found a flying snake hiding inside the gap of the rolling shutter of the shop, from where it was carefully extracted. The snake was immediately sent to the Society’s shelter in Sainikpuri for further examination and housing, said Arun Kumar of the Society.

“Ornate Flying Snake is one of the three species of flying snakes found in India. These snakes are capable of gliding in the air by flattening their body and at times becoming almost twice their normal width. They form a concave shape and trap air and glide between branches and trees. They appear to exhibit this behavior to avoid predators. This one-and-a-half foot specimen will be temporarily housed at Society’s shelter, during which behavioral studies would be conducted and findings would be published in a scientific journal. With the support of the Telangana Forest Department, this stray snake would be relocated in a forest area where the species are naturally found.

“Once earlier, we had rescued a snake in the Nampally railway station that had taken the train from Karnataka to Hyderabad. It was then identified as Bronze BackTree Snake. Instances of snakes coming in courier, container and consignment vehicles are not too uncommon”, the Society said.

With inputs from NSS