Rising heat forces reptiles to move out, seek cooler places
AGRA: Rising temperature has forced reptiles and other wild animals to venture out of their natural habitat to search for cooler places, particularly in May.
The worst affected are snakes as they are unable to self-regulate their temperature if it gets too warm and are forced to seek out cooler places during the daytime.
Agra recorded a maximum temperature of 42.2 degrees Celsius and minimum temperature of 27.7 degrees Celsius on Tuesday when it was the fifth most warm district of Uttar Pradesh.
Established in 1998 with the primary objective of rescuing and rehabilitating wildlife in distress across India, Wildlife SOS actively runs wildlife and nature protection projects to promote conservation, combat poaching and illegal wildlife trade. Multiple sightings of reptiles in Agra city have been keeping the Wildlife SOS Rapid Response Unit on its toes. Since the beginning of May, the team has responded to over 30 reptile related calls.“We are glad to see people taking the right measures and considering the well-being of these highly misunderstood reptiles by calling our helpline,” said Satyanarayan.
Baiju Raj MV, director, conservation projects, Wildlife SOS, said, “In these last 10 days alone, we have responded to more than 30 reptile related calls and the number is bound to rise. As the heat wave continues, there will be more such sightings of reptiles in and around the city. We request people to keep supporting our cause and report any sighting. Our rescue team works round the clock to ensure no call for aid is left unanswered.”
These sightings have kept the Wildlife SOS rapid response unit quite busy in Agra. Recently, on Monday morning, Wildlife SOS 24-hour emergency helpline (+91 9917109666) received a call about a Cobra spotted in the toilet of a house in Kirawali town on Fatehpur Sikri Road in Agra district. The four-foot-long venomous reptile was found coiled up on a pipe. The Rapid Response Unit was immediately sent to the location with the necessary rescue equipment. The snake was carefully extricated and transferred into a transportation carrier.
This was followed by the rescue of three Indian rat snakes, a Spectacled Cobra and a Monitor Lizard. The Indian rat snake was found inside a vehicle unit in Runkata and another rat snake was found underneath a bed in Nagla Murli. The four-foot-long Monitor lizard was sighted on the balcony of a house in Shahganj, Agra and all were rescued, claimed Arnita Shandilya, the spokesperson for Wildlife SOS.