UP: 13.5-foot-long python rescued at Mathura village

AGRA: Residents of Mathura’s Mirzapur village in UP were left in a state of panic on Monday evening after they witnessed a massive Indian Rock Python, measuring nearly 13.5 feet, preying on a goat in an agricultural field.
Weighing nearly 30 kilograms, the python was ultimately ‘rescued’ by the workers of Wildlife SOS, NGO. According to a spokesperson of the NGO, their team carefully transferred the python, after catching it, into a specialised snake bag.The python is being currently kept under observation and will be released back into the wild, once deemed fit by the veterinarians.
Director Conservation Projects, Wildlife SOS, Baiju Raj MV, said, “Because of continuous deforestation and expansion of human habitation these largely misunderstood reptiles often become victims of man-animal conflict situations”. He informed that earlier this year, they rescued a massive 14-foot-long Indian Rock Python from Kangarol village located near Fatehpur Sikri road.

“We are very glad that people have become so aware that they consider calling experts instead of trying to deal with the matter themselves, or worse, resorting to killing the snakes,” said Kartick Satyanarayan, Co-founder & CEO of Wildlife SOS.
The Indian Rock Python (Python molurus) is a large nonvenomous python species found in the India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. This species is threatened by habitat loss, poaching and is a sought-after species in the illegal pet trade. This species is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and listed under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), which regulates the international trade of wildlife species.