At least 40 snakes, most of them venomous, have been rescued from a pocket of Howrah in July.

The rescued reptiles include 12 monocled cobras, 20 Russell’s vipers and one common krait. The non-venomous snakes include rat snake and common wolf snake.

Russell’s viper, Indian cobra, saw-scaled viper and Indian common krait are the four most poisonous groups of snakes, said experts.

The snakes were rescued by members of a nature lovers’ platform.

“The snakes we rescued were from different villages in Uluberia, Bagnan and Shyampur under the Uluberia sub-division,” said Chitrak Pramanik, a wildlife conservation enthusiast who is a trained snake rescuer, certified by the forest department.

Many of the snakes were rescued from bamboo traps and nets — meant to catch fish — kept near water bodies. The snakes, mainly cobras, enter the nets for fish.

The monocled cobra (Naja kaouthia) is a highly venomous snake native to South and Southeast Asia. The snakes prefer living close to water, in swamps and mangroves.

Earlier in July, a young Russell’s viper (Daboia russelii) was rescued from the courtyard of a house near Bagnan railway station. The snake was coiled under a bucket.

Russell’s viper — called Chandrobora in Bengali for lunar marks all over its body — accounts for the highest number of snakebites in India.

All the snakes rescued by the team have been released back into a suitable habitat, said Pramanik.

“The snakes play an important role in the ecosystem because they are natural pest controllers,” said an officer of state forest department’s Howrah division.

The monsoon is the time when most cases of snakebites are reported across Bengal, said forest officials.

The state forest department also rescues snakes but lacks resources and has to depend on other rescuers.

But not all of them are trained, resulting in fatalities.

On July 14, a man in Madhya Pradesh, known for rescuing snakes, died of snakebite. A viral video showed him wrapping a snake around his neck like a garland.

In November 2019, a retired man with a passion for rescuing wild animals straying into domestic settlements, died after a snakebite at Naihati.