One serpent-saving society rescued 130 reptiles in June, when the monsoon starts, up 14% from last year
It is not literally raining snakes. But a week of torrential downpours has had the same effect, driving snakes and other reptiles out of their burrows and into the city, where they seek warmth, shelter and gastronomic delights.
There are plenty to be found. Mumbai is highly built up and densely populated. But it is also full of ground-level foliage, warm nooks such as car engines, and lots of rubbish, the last of which attracts rats that make New York’s rodents look malnourished. The rats, in turn, attract hungry snakes. “Rock pythons are rarely found in cities,” says Santosh Shinde of Spreading Awareness on Reptiles & Rehabilitation Programme , the outfit that rescued the reptile in the rickshaw. Nonetheless, he says, “Last year we found 25 pythons in one month.” As for venomous snakes, it would be easier to list the parts of Mumbai they are not found.
When people see a snake, they “immediately go to pray or throw [an auspicious] red cloth”, says Dr Gupta. Or they “try to kill or attack it, and then they get bitten”. Her staff are trying to teach the public to distinguish venomous snakes from others. So is Mr Shinde, who argues that, just as people know the difference between a Doberman and a Pomeranian, they should be able to tell a harmless rat snake from the deadly “big four”: cobras, kraits and two types of viper.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline "Snakes in the city"
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