NASHIK: Villagers of Igatpuri Taluka aided in a vine snake’s rescue in morning and saved its life. A woman noticed a green snake on a tree in Shailesh Sopner’s field near Vipassana Centre in Igatpuri and got scared by its presence.
As the incident’s information reached Sopner, he contacted Vishal Gaikwad, a snake friend (snake-catcher). Gaikwad reached the stop, rescued the snake, and released it in a cashew forest at Fanaswadi. With the help of villagers, the snake catcher rescued the snake and saved its life.
A semi-venomous snake
“Vine snake is a semi-venomous snake, and its poison doesn’t have a serious effect on a human’s body. However, their venom proves fatal for animals like rats, rabbits, and frogs.”
– Vishal Gaikwad, Snake catcher
Vine snake
Ahaetulla oxyrhyncha, an Indian or Long-nosed vine snake, is a mildly venomous, arboreal snake species commonly found in the lowlands of peninsular India. The only snake species with horizontal pupils attracts everyone due to its slender body structure. The snake experts say the commonly found snake in Igatpuri Tehsil has become rarely sighted.
Reasons for decreasing population
Misconception: Vine snake species are also known as the ‘eye plucker’ due to a misconception stuck with them. According to people, these snakes strike on the eyes and forehead, and the human dies immediately. However, various snake catchers and herpetologists have rubbished this rumour, stating vine snake’s venom is non-fatal for humans. Due to the baseless misconceptions, people try to kill a vine snake as soon as they spot one.
Habitat Loss: Due to urbanization, the snakes’ habitat is shrinking. The species usually live in bushes and camouflage for hunting food. However, with an increasing pace of development work in their habitat, these snakes suffer.
Human Intervention: Humans try to kill them followed by a misconception, or else, enter their habitat due to a series of development works and make snakes suffer. Also, some people try to pet this snake, thus increasing the harm to the species.
