Venomous snake ‘evicted’ from Delhi Chief Secy’s house

The search for the snake had been on for a week,since it was first sighted about a week ago. Snake catchers from the NGO extensively searched the premises at that time,but the venomous reptile escaped.

This time the Chief Secretary’s Office contacted the NGO’s hotline immediately when the snake was sighted and the Delhi Police followed up.

Harshad Solanki of the NGO and his team found the three-foot-long Krait hiding under a pipe behind the Chief Secretary’s house.

According to Kartick Satyanarayan,co-founder of Wildlife SOS,“The venomous snakes found in Delhi are common Krait and Cobra. It is extremely dangerous to handle them,which is why we request people to call our hotline,” he said.

The Wildlife SOS hotline 9871963535,is a 24-hour helpline that can be contacted for help on how to handle such situations.

The common krait

The common Krait (Bungarus Caeruleus) is found in the jungles of the Indian sub-continent. Its average length is 1 metre and its body colour varies from a dark steely blue-black to a pale bluish grey. It is one of four venomous snakes found in India,the others being the Indian Cobra,Russell’s Viper and Saw-Scaled Viper.

Generally docile and unaggressive during the day,it may become aggressive at night. The untreated mortality rate from its bites can be very high. It typically bites and holds on for a while,which enables it to inject considerable amounts of venom.

There is frequently little or no pain from a Krait bite and this can provide false reassurance to the victim. Typically,victims complain of severe abdominal cramps,accompanied by progressive paralysis.