Rescue calls flood wildlife hqs as snakes slither into homes

“Usually we get 30 to 40 calls per day related to wildlife rescue, mostly related to stray snakes and birds. On Thursday, till evening, there were 127 snake rescue calls, mostly from extended parts of the city like Medavakkam, Madipakkam, Nanganallur, Velachery Ambattur, Avadi and Pallikaranai,” Chennai forest headquarters ranger A Clement Edison told DT Next.

Rat Snake and cobra topped the list with 33 and 27 snakes. Common wool snakes and keel backs were also rescued. In the poisonous category, four kraits and three Russel’s viper were rescued and all the snakes released into the wild, the ranger said.

Four years ago, during Cyclone Vardah, foresters and bird watchers in Chennai and Kancheepuram recorded reverse migration of wetland birds from Chennai, but this time migratory birds have stayed intact in Pallikaranai and Vedanthangal bird sanctuaries even as Cyclone Nivar made landfall with winds gusting in Chennai, Chengalpet and Kancheepuram districts till early Thursday.

Interestingly, there were no major threats to birdlife and the nests inside the bird sanctuaries were mostly intact, wildlife sources confirmed.Meanwhile, the entry of freshwater into Pallikaranai and Perumbakkam wetlands has made the water bodies an ideal habitat for migratory duck varieties. “The Eurasian Wigeon which was missing at Pallikaranai this season had now arrived in large numbers due to good rains,” said KVRK Thirunaranan, founder, The Nature Trust.

“Undisturbed nests in Pallikaranai, NIOT campus and Perumbakkam have confirmed that Cyclone Nivar had caused less damage to the habitats. The recent rains will certainly extend the stay of migratory birds in north TN. The water bodies in Kancheepuram have also filed up drastically, but Vedanthangal bird sanctuary in Chengalpet still requires about six feet of water and we are hoping for more spells of rains in Vedanthangal catchment areas,” the avid bird watcher said.