A harmless snake, which wandered into a train of the Hyderabad Metro Rail, was rescued on Monday after it reportedly spent five days on board and took multiple trips without being caught.
The Bronzeback Tree Snake, which was around two-feet long, was rescued on Monday afternoon by members of the Friends of Snakes Society (FoSS).
It was first spotted on August 14, when activists received a call a few days ago. While a search was conducted, they were unable to trace the snake and operations resumed. On Monday, the snake was spotted again by authorities near Dilshuknagar. The train was emptied and taken to the LB Nagar depot by steering it from the rear pilot cabin.
Speaking to TNM, M S Jayashankar from FoSS who rescued the snake, said, "We received a call through our helpline in the afternoon around 2 pm that the snake was found inside the driver's cabin in a train, which had been parked at the metro depot near LB Nagar station."
"The Bronzeback Tree Snake is completely non-venomous and harmless. They generally scale trees. We rescued the snake and later released it along with the Forest Department," he added.
According to media reports, the snake roughly must have done around 80 plus trips on the 29-km LB Nagar-Miyapur stretch, since it was first spotted.
The Friends of Snakes Society (FOSS) is a well-established organisation in Hyderabad, which runs a 24/7 helpline at +91-8374233366, to rescue snakes that wander into urban spaces.
Besides rescue and relocation of the reptiles, FOSS also holds several educational and awareness programs in schools, colleges and companies. It also works with the Forest Department to curb anti-poaching activities.
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