18 December,2015 08:34 AM IST | | Ranjeet Jadhav
A group of children from Malad stumbled upon six venomous snakes, which had been tied up and abandoned near their school; an NGO responded to the alert and immediately released the snakes
On Wednesday, a group of schoolchildren from St Judes High School near Jankalyan Nagar, Malad (west) came across something that shocked them.
The five hook-nosed sea snakes and one marine file snake were rescued and immediately released back in Marve Creek, their natural habitat
The children saw six snakes, which were alive, tied up with rope and abandoned near a garden close to their school. Without disturbing the snakes, the children immediately approached the school staff and requested them to save the life of the reptiles.
Without wasting time, the school management immediately informed the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), which informed SARRP (Spreading Awareness on Reptiles and Rehabilitation Programme), an NGO, about the strange incident.
To prevent people from flocking to the spot as the news of the sighting spread, a volunteer from the NGO and a WCCB member reached the spot and took control of the situation.
Santosh Shinde, president of SARRP, told mid-day, "We are really thankful for the responsible behaviour shown by the school management, and the children, who informed us about this very unusual incident where six sea snakes were tied together and abandoned. Our volunteer immediately reached the spot and without wasting time, we rescued the reptiles."
Anand Mohite, a SARRP volunteer said, "I reached the location immediately after our NGO president Santosh Shinde informed me about this incident. The schoolchildren and school management's will to save these reptiles has helped in our conservation effort.
Their information not only helped us save the life of the reptiles, it also sends out a positive message that rather than killing snakes, we should inform the concerned people who can rescue them and release them back into their natural habitat."
The five hook-nosed sea snakes and one marine file snake were rescued and immediately released back in Marve Creek, their natural habitat.
