Cobras Top List of Rescued Snakes in Telangana
Hyderabad: Cobras. Vipers. Kraits. These are just poisonous snakes. Rat snakes, pythons and other non-venomous snakes. This is all very much at home in increasingly lively Hyderabad, if the number of snakes rescued in the city last year is any indication. As human-wildlife conflict situations continue, snakes are clearly at the top of the lists.
According to the Friends of Snakes Society (FOS), 15,265 snakes in the state last year, or 98 per cent, or 14,960 snakes, were rescued from Hyderabad district, which includes areas adjacent to the outer side of the Outer Ring Road. Ten years ago in 2016, this number was 3,097.
“The rescue of nearly 87,000 snakes in the last decade shows that snakes are becoming an important component of urban wildlife management. This is growing in scale, complexity and resource demands,” said FOSS general secretary Avinash Viswanathan.
The increasing number of rescues each year reflects a combination of factors. “As the city expanded, contact between snakes and humans intensified. At the same time, increased reliance on professional rescue services led to an increase in reporting rates,” Vishwanathan said.
An all-volunteer force, FOSS has around 150 members, around 70 of whom specialize in rescue. When the snake is caught, it is taken to the rescue center built by the forest department in Bowrampet and kept there. After the rescued snakes reach a certain number, they are taken and released into forest areas where there is no conflict.
One of the important findings in the data FOSS has collected over the years is that the number of spectacled cobras in general rescue operations is increasing. Cobras thrive in landscapes disturbed by humans. Most other species try to move away from disturbed areas, but cobras are well-suited to such areas, being general feeders and sometimes even feeding on other snakes, he said.
While most female snakes usually lay between 10 and 12 eggs at a time once a year, champion mothers are vipers that give birth to 30 to 40 live young.
Poisonous snakes recovered within ORR limits are cobra, viper and krait. Last year, 7,525 cobras were rescued, followed by 897 Russell vipers and 67 kraits.
“This has important implications for public safety and underscores the need for trained expert intervention. The high frequency of poisonous species in urban and peri-urban environments reflects their ecological adaptability and association with human-altered environments that provide prey, shelter and water. While non-poisonous rescues are fewer, their translocation into human areas indicates increased habitat pressure and loss of ecological buffers,” Vishwanathan said.
Most ‘rescued’ snakes (23 species in total)
Spectacled cobra: 7.275
Rat snake: 3,587
Checkered spine: 1.195
Russell’s viper: 897
Bronze-backed tree snake: 557
Lane racer: 353
Common sand boa: 313
Common trinket snake: 264
Indian rock python: 142
Common krait: 67
Banded Krait: 65
Other snakes rescued: Russell’s wolf snake, long-nosed vine snake, red sand boa, yellow-collared wolf snake, buff striped keel, striped kukri, green keel, barred wolf snake, Nagarjunasagar racer, Brahminy worm snake, beaked worm snake, common cat snake.
Climate governs snake activity
January-March: Cold temperatures limit snake movement, with most rescues being by snakes seeking shelter.
April-May: Pre-monsoon months see increased foraging and rescue
June-September: Peak rescue period due to flooding of natural shelters, displacement of habitat, emergence of offspring
October-November: More rescues took place in the spread of snakes after the monsoon rain, which continued until December.
*All data was taken from the Snake Friends Association.
Snakes are rescued on a yearly basis
Year – Number
2016 – 3097
2017 – 4504
2018 – 5644
2019 – 6,689
2020 – 8,895
2021 – 10,525
2022 – 9,101
2023 – 10,282
2024 – 13,028
2025 – 15,265
