Reticulated python rescued from IIT-Madras campus and sent to Guindy Children’s Park

Rescuers find 12-ft reticulated python in IIT-M premises after month-long search. Trap cages, hens, poultry droppings used. Irula community members brought in. Snake escaped from Snake Park years ago, now housed in Children's Park.

A 12-foot reticulated python, which was spotted inside the premises of Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M), was found by the Forest Department and snake rescue volunteers on Thursday after month-long efforts.

Snake rescuers of the Forest Department, along with IIT-M workers and volunteers from the Besant Memorial Animal Dispensary (BMAD), set up trap cages and began patrolling in early October, when the reticulated python was sighted. Previously, the reptile was said to have been found by the guards at IIT-M, who left it inside the adjacent Guindy National Park. 

Shravan Krishnan, of BMAD, said IIT-M workers were asked to immediately contact the search team if the reticulated python was spotted. The snake was reportedly sighted twice by the workers. Based on the sightings, the snake rescuers strategically placed trap cages with hens. “We also scattered poultry droppings at places we knew it was moving around,” said Mr. Krishnan. Two members of the Irula community were brought in for a couple of days during the search operation.

Reticulated pythons, the world’s longest and third heaviest snakes, are non-venomous constrictors native to Southeast Asia and are capable of swallowing humans. According to E. Prasanth, Wildlife Warden, Chennai, the trapped reticulated python is believed to have escaped from the Snake Park years ago. The rescued snake, which weighs about 30 kg, is now housed in the Children’s Park.