A nearly 4-foot-long Levantine viper was found inside a home in Balhama, situated in the Srinagar district of Jammu & Kashmir. The Wildlife SOS Rapid Response Unit rescued the highly venomous snake and it is currently under observation.
On Tuesday night residents of a household in Balhama, a small town located on the outskirts of Srinagar, were shocked to find a 4-foot-long Levantine viper in the verandah of their home. On spotting the snake, the family immediately alerted the Wildlife SOS Rapid Response Unit operating out of Jammu & Kashmir on its 24×7 rescue helpline (+91 7006692300, +91 9419778280), which works round-the-clock to save wild animals in distress.
The Wildlife SOS team travelled nearly 35 km with the requisite equipment and protective gear to conduct the rescue. By the time they had reached the location, the snake had slithered behind a shoe rack and a crowd had gathered. After quelling the crowd, the team extricated the snake with the necessary precautions and put it into a safety box.
The reptile is currently under observation and will soon be released back into its natural habitat.
Aaliya Mir, Education Officer and Programme Head- J&K, Wildlife SOS informed, “Levantine vipers are known to be aggressive in nature. They are capable of lightning fast strikes when provoked and will give out a warning hiss before striking. In this case, the rescue went smoothly since we exercised extreme caution and had informed the members of the household to not panic and keep their distance. As a result, the viper was calm and we were able to safely extricate the snake.”
Kartick Satyanarayan, Co-founder and CEO, Wildlife SOS said, “In Jammu & Kashmir, most locals are aware of the Levantine viper and the fact that it is highly venomous. It is a matter of jubilation that the residents did not take matters into their own hands and let trained experts from Wildlife SOS handle the situation, thus protecting the lives of both the snake and the humans sharing the landscape.”
The Levantine viper (Macrovipera lebetina) is known as ‘Gunas’ in the local language that feeds on rodents, lizards and birds, and is found in the mountainous regions of Jammu & Kashmir. Their venom is hemotoxic (acts on the cardiovascular system, including the heart and blood), causing extreme pain, inflammation and tissue damage at the bite site.
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Wildlife SOS (WSOS) is a non-profit charity established in 1998 with the primary objective of rescuing and rehabilitating wildlife in distress across India. We actively run wildlife and nature protection projects to promote conservation, combat poaching & illegal wildlife trade. We work in partnership with the Government and indigenous communities to create sustainable, alternative livelihoods for erstwhile poacher communities
