A nearly five-foot-long Rat snake was rescued today by Wildlife SOS after it was found inside the Jeoni Mandi water treatment plant here, officials said.
The snake was kept under observation for a few hours and later released back into the wild, the Delhi-based wildlife NGO said.
It said that as heat wave continues across northern India, various reptile species are being forced to venture out of their natural habitats and seek reprieve from the sweltering heat in cooler places.
Staff at the water treatment plant found the rat snake in the bed filter of the facility last night, and the operations team immediately stopped the filtration machine and informed authorities, the officials said.
Wildlife SOS was alerted on their 24-hour rescue helpline and two snake rescuers were dispatched to the water treatment plant, they said.
The Jeoni Mandi plant is the oldest and largest supplier of potable water in the city.
Upon assessing the situation, one of the rescuers lowered himself into the bed filter to reach out to the nearly five-foot-long snake. It took the team almost 30 minutes to safely carry out the rescue operation after which the snake was moved to a safe transport carrier, the officials said.
Safety Officer Raghvendra Singh said, "As the Yamuna river is located nearby, snakes often enter the plant premises through water pipelines to seek refuge in the bed filters."
Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder and CEO, Wildlife SOS said, The rising temperatures often force snakes out of their natural habitat to find reprieve from the heat and exhaustion."