Jorhat, July 14: The eggs of a Burmese python, rescued along with the mother from the bank of the Brahmaputra here a few days ago, have begun to hatch in a makeshift nest at the wildlife rehabilitation and conservation centre near Kaziranga National Park.

An official at the centre said at least two eggs have hatched, which is a great success story.

"We will wait till the hatching of most of the eggs and then the baby pythons and the mother will be released into the wild," the official said.

The Burmese python is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

The female python and a clutch of around 30 eggs were rescued from an outdoor shed at Shanti Ashram in Kokilamukh, along the bank of the Brahmaputra here, a few days ago.

Responding to an emergency call from the forest department, a mobile veterinary team from the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation went to Shanti Ashram immediately.

The management informed them that the snake was found coiled around its eggs in the corner of a shed used to store cattle feed. The nest had been uncovered the previous evening when a pile of hay was moved to one side.

Pythons are among a select types of snakes that are capable of generating body heat to incubate their eggs, a difficult feat for cold-blooded reptiles. Burmese pythons do this by rapidly constricting and releasing their muscles akin to shivering.

The official said a large crowd had gathered by the time the team reached the spot and the python, no longer visible, was thought to have abandoned its nest. One of the eggs had also been broken open and the hatchling, about 10 inches long, killed.

He said the female python was discovered nearby after removing some of the hay around the nest.

The eggs and the python had to be transported to the centre for them to have any chance of survival.

"One of the eggs had been smashed and the spot had become something of a public attraction. The nest would not have been left undisturbed. The eggs and the mother were shifted into a glass box so that the mother could incubate her eggs comfortably," the official said.

Subsequently, the mother started incubating in the nest inside the glass box.

"Now, it seems that the combined efforts of the centre's rescue team and veterinarians have borne fruit - two hatchlings have emerged from the eggs. This is a great success for us. The mother python has been incubating the eggs in the artificial nest and we expect to see a few more hatchlings soon," the official said.