9-foot-long python rescued in Agra

Wildlife SOS team in Agra rescued a nine-foot-long from 40-foot deep open well in village.

Agra, March 27: A nine-foot-long Indian Rock Python was rescued by a Wildlife SOS team from a 40-foot deep open well in a village near Agra on Monday.

The reptile is currently under observation and will soon be released back into its natural habitat.

Pramod Singh, a farm owner in Jaitai village in Sadabad, 40 km from Agra, found the large reptile trapped inside a well and immediately informed the forest department who in turn alerted the team in Agra.

A three-member rescue team from the non-governmental organisation drove from the Agra Bear Rescue Facility to the location, with the necessary rescue equipment in hand. One of the rescuers climbed down the well and carefully extricated the distressed reptile, in an hour-long rescue operation.

Baiju Raj M V, director conservation projects, Wildlife SOS, said, "The python is thankfully unhurt and currently under observation. We often receive calls of wild animals that were found trapped inside dry, open wells. These uncovered wells pose a hazard not only to animals, but also to human beings, particularly children."

Such cases have been increasing in the recent years and the main reason behind this appears to be the lack of proper covers and fencing around these wells.

Earlier this year, the NGO rescued a severely injured hyena from a well in Fatehpur Sikhri but the animal succumbed to its injuries.

In the past year alone, the NGO has rescued leopards, bears, owls, reptiles, and many other types of animals from such situations across India.

Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder of the NGO said, "Unsuspecting animals fall into the wells regularly, breaking their legs and sometimes their necks from the fall itself, and they can subsequently drown or starve to death waiting for help. We must work closely with the local communities to address this problem before it escalates and becomes a threat to human lives as well."

IANS