Kozhikode (Keralam), Oct 3 (PTI) At least 20 rescued pythons were found dead in a well at the Forest and Wildlife Department’s Vanasree office premises at Mathottam here, officials said on Saturday.
The pythons, rescued from various parts of Kozhikode district by the department’s Rapid Response Teams (RRTs), were being kept in the well before being released into the forest, they said.
The carcasses were taken out of the well in a decomposed condition earlier this week, officials said.
Department staff inspected the well after noticing a foul smell, they said. Some live pythons were also found on top of the carcasses.
The sources alleged that the snakes had been kept in the well for nearly two weeks. They claimed those at the bottom had died as they could not bear the weight of the other pythons above them. The well has only a narrow opening, they said.
A senior forest official, however, denied any negligence, saying temporary keeping of rescued snakes in such wells was a usual practice at various locations.
“These pythons were rescued from within the city limits and were being kept in the well. They are periodically taken out and transported in RRT vehicles for release in the forest. When staff came the other day to relocate them, some pythons were found dead, apparently due to infection,” the official told PTI.
He said the department rescues around four to five pythons a day from within the city limits alone, and they are relocated to the forest depending on priority at a given time.
“This time, there was panic among local people following the presence of a leopard in human habitation in Nadapuram. So, the department’s entire manpower was shifted to that area during those days,” he said.
The Indian rock python is a Schedule I species under the Wildlife Protection Act, the official noted.
There was no official finding on the cause of death, and no post-mortem report was immediately available. PTI LGK SSK
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