Six-foot-long snake visits forest conservator's office

Agra, Oct 12 (IANS) A six-foot-long Royal Snake on Friday entered the Chief Conservator of Forests' office in Khandari in Agra, causing panic.

The officials sought the expert services of the NGO Wildlife SOS. A two-member team managed to rescue the serpent which was found to be in good health and was released back in the wild.

An official said the snake had slowly made its way out of the office and sought refuge amidst a pile of bricks kept outside. 

Taking care not to harm or startle it, the rescue team carefully extricated the reptile and relocated it to a safer place in its natural habitat.

Kartick Satyanarayan, Co-founder and CEO of Wildlife SOS, said: "The Royal Snake (Spalerosophis atriceps) is a non-venomous species and can be easily identified by the distinct black colouring on the head and dark speckles on the body. 

"They are excellent climbers and are found on trees, low bushes and crevices. As a defence mechanism under threats and stressful situations, they coil up and hiss loudly but rarely bite in retaliation."

Baiju Raj M.V., Director Conservation Projects, Wildlife SOS, said: "With increasing urbanization, construction, shrinking habitats and loss of natural prey base, wildlife species are often forced to move into human settlements in search of easy prey. 

"Very few snake species in Agra are actually venomous and even these snakes will not attack until provoked or threatened."