A poisonous, rare green pit viper was caught from the densely populated Mariyam Tola mohalla in Deepugarha area of Hazaribagh town.

Environmentalist and independent researcher Mritunjay Sharma who was called in said this was the first time he encountered this snake in the district.

Sharma said local residents spotted the snake on a tree.

“They all got scared seeing its unique colour after which they informed me,” he said.

Sharma said the poisonous Russell ’s viper is found in the district in large numbers and this green pit viper is also from the same family.

“But the green pit viper found in Assam, or in country like Thailand, where it is found there in large numbers,” he said.

Sharma said snake rescuer Binod Miachel helped him to release the snake in the forests of Canary Hill.

“We selected areas where bamboos are found as the serpent likes to live around it. This is the reason why, green pit viper also known as bamboo viper,” he added.

Sharma said it's very surprising to see such a rare and poisonous snake in a mohalla of town.

“These days, snakes are caught from many areas in town, which explains that the town has claimed a lot of forest land,” he said, adding that the forest department is not taking any initiative to catch snakes.

Private rescuers who are doing this work complain of not getting any help from the department.

“At least they should have provided us with a rescue kit for this work,” said one of them.

“We are thanklessly catching snakes regularly risking our lives”, he added on condition of anonymity.