Rat snake rescued from Dwarka

A three-foot-long rat snake has been rescued after it was found trapped in a crack of a wall in a DDA park in Delhi, an NGO said Wednesday.

On Tuesday evening, the Wildlife SOS received a call about a rat snake found near Gangotri Apartments in Dwarka. Two members from the organisation reached the spot and rescued the snake, a statement said.

The snake was put into a snake bag and sent for medical assessment. The reptile is under observation and will be released into the wild once deemed fit, it said.

"Although non-venomous, rat snakes are swift and easily excitable and may bite if felt threatened. It is important to not alarm the snake while carrying out such rescue operations. The extrication needs to be done with caution, as to evade any injury to the reptile," Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder and CEO of Wildlife SOS, said.

Rat snakes, also known as oriental rat snake, are a highly-adaptable species and are commonly found in urban areas. They often wander into the human habitation due to depletion of the natural prey base. However, due to their resemblance to cobras, this species is often misidentified as the highly-venomous snake, Satyanarayan added.