5-feet long python rescued from house in Gurgaon

An approximately five-feet long Indian rock python was rescued from the front lawn of a house in Gurgaon by members of a wildlife NGO today.

The owners of the house alerted the Wildlife SOS about the python yesterday.

The family was out for a walk in their front lawn when they heard a strange rustling noise coming from a row of potted plants. On taking a closer look, they were shocked to find a python nestled between the pots, according to a statement issued by the NGO.

"It was around 11 pm when we first saw the snake. I came across the NGO's helpline number online and called them for help. There is a small forested area nearby so the python must have wandered from there," said Sankalp Jain, who had found the python.

Since there was not enough space between the pots, the rescue team had to be extremely cautious while extricating the python. Although non-venomous, it requires swift skills on the part of the snake rescuers to capture them, the statement added.

The python might have ventured out to hunt for prey such as small mammals, rodents, monitor lizards, birds in the area.

Kartick Satyanarayan, the co-founder and CEO of Wildlife SOS said the Indian rock pythons are quite often mistaken to be dangerous because of their size.

"They face extreme threat due to prevalent misunderstanding and ignorance among public. People do not realise that pythons are non-venomous, and these reptiles often get killed when they venture into human surroundings," he said.