Agra, Aug 8 (IANS): An eight-foot long Indian rock python was rescued by the Wildlife SOS Rapid Response Unit from a playground beside the Central Hindi Institute's residential hostel in Khandari, Agra. After being kept under observation for a few hours, the python was released into its natural habitat.

The students of the hostel were shocked to find the massive python in the playground near the Central Hindi Institute's residential hostel. They immediately alerted the Wildlife SOS on their 24x7 emergency helpline.

A team of experts from the NGO was dispatched to rescue the python, which by then had moved towards the hostel gate. Although non-venomous, a python's bite can be injurious. The Wildlife SOS team carefully transferred the python into a specialised transport carrier and it was later relocated to a safer habitat in the wild.

Pritam Singh Bisht, the caller and a student at the Kendriya Hindi Sansthan, said, "We often find snakes in this area, but this is the first time that we've seen such a large python. We are thankful to the Wildlife SOS for their timely assistance."

Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder and CEO of Wildlife SOS, said, "The python's sheer size is enough to scare people. In such cases, it is extremely important for a trained snake handler to conduct the rescue operation to ensure minimal stress to everybody involved, including the reptile."