Foresters of the Kurseong forest division are rescuing large-sized reptiles — king cobras and rock pythons — in high-altitude areas, which, according to them, are quite unusual.
“In the past six months, we have rescued 10 king cobras and pythons from different locations in Kurseong. It is rare as such snakes are not normally seen in the high-altitude areas of the hills,” said Devesh Pandey, the divisional forest officer of Kurseong.
Last Saturday, they rescued a 10-foot-long king cobra from the Ambootia tea estate in the Kurseong subdivision of Darjeeling.
“We are surprised by the presence of such snakes here because Kurseong and its surroundings are located around 4,500 feet above sea level. Earlier, we have found cobras and pythons in places like Deorali and Castleton hilly areas,” said a forester.
Pandey said snakes were being found in such new habitats because of rapid changes in climate, development work in rural areas, deforestation and massive urbanisation.
“These factors have forced the reptile species to move into higher altitudes,” he said.
The rescued snakes were released into the core forest areas.
“We have also taken up the task to create awareness among residents not to harm the snakes. Hill people are not used to sighting cobras or other snake species,” the DFO said.
Sambrata Sadhu, the range officer of Kurseong who has rescued some of the snakes, including the one last Saturday, said it was the third such snake rescue from a hilly area in June.
“We have earlier carried out similar rescue operations to rescue snakes at Deorali and Castleton, situated at a height of 6,000 feet (above sea level). Earlier, such snakes were hardly found in the hills,” said Sadhu.