Snake

Clint Razario

Vineeth Priston

BBMP forest cell

had coiled around bike’s engine, with its head near kick start leverIt was a close shave for the family of, with three small kids, as a Russell’s viper, a haemotoxic (highly venomous) snake had coiled around his bike’s engine, its head just inches away from the kick start lever. By pure fluke, Razario noticed it.The viper, which grows active with the sunshine as the day progresses, was teased out and rescued by a neighbour, also a wildlife enthusiast, in Kalyan Nagar. “They are lucky as the kids keep playing inside the compound around the bike. It would have been dangerous had the kids gone near the bike. Our neighbour was supposed to leave for office but fortunately noticed the viper before he started. I rescued it as I have been doing it for the last few years as a hobby,” Shawn Corneille, a sales executive with Entraine, a city-based BPO, told Bangalore Mirror.The snake had coiled up in the bike parked inside the compound that has three houses including Razarios'. With three kids of 1, 4 and 7 years, the chances of getting bitten was high, as the viper, a very fast and venomous snake, strikes immediately if provoked. It stayed in the bike for more than 2 hours.“They noticed it around 8.30 am and called us around 11.30 am when we rushed and rescued it within 10 minutes. As its head was inside and under the seat, we had to remove the seat and the side boxes before it was rescued. We rarely spot these in our area. It was risky and I did it with the help of my friend,, who is also a wildlife enthusiast,” Shawn added.Russell's vipers, which are found often in the city, are deadly and can inflict severe damage, experts say. At least fifteen Russell’s vipers are rescued on an average every month, and the number rises during summer and rainy seasons, they say.“The snakes usually come out from their habitat for warmth and food. This must be one of those. They make loud noise and strike when provoked and can cause severe damage ranging from paralysis to death,” Sharath R Babu, environment advisor totold Bangalore Mirror.