21 July,2017 06:00 AM IST | Mumbai | Ranjeet Jadhav
Barely a week after an Aarey milk colony resident, 20, died of snakebite, panic slithered into the Jivachapada tribal hamlet when another Spectacled Cobra found itself inside a poultry cage
The snake was trapped inside the cage till the rescuer arrived
Same place, same snake species, but a tragedy was averted. Barely a week after an Aarey milk colony resident, 20, died of snakebite, panic slithered into the Jivachapada tribal hamlet in the early hours of Friday when another Spectacled Cobra found itself inside a poultry cage.
The rescue op
Anandrao Moghe and his family members - his wife, three daughters and a son - were asleep when they heard a commotion near their poultry cage. Speaking to mid-day, Moghe said, "It was around 1.45 am that we crept out of our home to find a 2-3 feet long snake inside the poultry cage. We cautiously opened one of the doors to the cage and the hen inside it ran out."
They alerted snake rescuer Kaushal Dubey around 2 am, who managed to get the cobra out of the cage in 15 minutes, following which he released it into a forest patch, around 400 metres away from the hamlet.
"We remained inside our homes while the snake was being rescued. It might have entered our hamlet to source food," Moghe said.
The precautions
Moghe said the hamlet residents had taken adequate precautions to protect our poultry since the 20-year-old woman died of snakebite a week ago. "We have stacked up wooden boxes around the poultry cages so that snakes cannot enter them. Also, we ensure that the areas surrounding our homes are clean at all times. We also check inside firewood before taking them inside our homes for use as those are ideal hiding spots for snakes."
