Cuttack, June 2: The discovery of different species of venomous and non-venomous snakes from a single place has created fear amongst residents of Phulapokhari in Barang.

Eleven snakes, including two cobras and one Russell’s viper, were found by the members of the snake helpline yesterday. One cobra and the Russell’s viper were pregnant and may have assembled at one place to lay eggs.The snakes were rescued from the house of one Purna Chandra Beura, 47.“Many people in the locality had seen the Russell’s viper in my backyard. But only after my son captured the image of the snake on his mobile phone that I called the snake helpline,” said Beura.

Beura said the members of the snake helpline began looking for the Russell’s viper around 2.30pm, but he was shocked to see them capture a number of snakes from one spot.

“There is wild vegetation around my house and the snakes had taken shelter behind the bricks that were placed in the backyard for construction purposes,” said Beura, who works as laboratory engineer at KIIT.

Besides the two cobras and the Russell’s viper, five water snakes, three bronze back snakes, four eggs and five babies of striped kill-back have also been rescued from the spot.“Everybody in the locality was surprised to see different species of snakes being captured from the same spot,” said a villager.“This is a unique thing as snakes usually eat up other snakes and their eggs. But here, different species of snakes had assembled in one place possibly to lay eggs at the isolated place,” said snake helpline secretary Subhendu Mallick.

“Though our team had rescued 17 to 18 snakes several times in the past, the recovery of a variety of snake species is certainly a new thing for us. We are thankful to the people who called us to rescue them. The eggs would now be hatched at the range office and all the venomous and non-venomous snakes would be released at an isolated place far from human settlements,” Mallick added.