Agra, May 28 (IANS): Trained snake catchers in the city have had a rather busy time responding to distress calls from panic-stricken people, following a spate of reptile sightings, a few weeks before monsoon.

From rescuing a 6-foot-long Indian Rat Snake from the electric fuse panel of a house in Bodla to a 5-foot-long venomous Spectacled Cobra from Shri Shyam Mahavidhyalaya and a monitor lizard under the mixer grinder of a house in Awas Vikas Colony, the Wildlife SOS team had quite an action-packed week.

With the mercury levels rising across northern India, snakes are coming out of their burrows and pits to take shelter in cooler places such as houses and factories.

The team members have to be extra careful while extricating the distressed snakes as they want to avoid agitating the snakes further which could lead to any casualty. The team received a panic-stricken call about a Cobra sighting in Shri Shyam Mahavidhyalaya in Karahara, Agra. The venomous snake was in the meeting hall. Since the hall is undergoing renovation, the cobra decided to take refuge in an empty paint bucket in the hall and was safely rescued by Wildlife SOS rapid response unit later.

The team also rescued a monitor lizard hiding underneath a mixer grinder in Awas Vikas Colony and a 4-foot-long rat snake from the drainage pipe of a house in Krishna Dham Colony in Sikandra, Agra.

All the reptiles were kept under observation for a few hours and later released back into their natural habitat.

Kartick Satyanarayan, Wildlife SOS co-founder and CEO said, "Our rescue team is well-trained in handling such delicate rescue operations, and making sure that the snakes are rescued without causing any harm. We are grateful to people for reaching out to Wildlife SOS in times of aid, as we can ensure safety for all involved."

Baijuraj M.V, Director Conservation Projects for Wildlife SOS, said, "Snakes are ectothermic animals and cannot regulate their internal body temperature. Hence, on excessively hot days, they come out of their pits in search of cooler, shaded places to take shelter. Every month, the Wildlife SOS Rapid Response Unit carries out numerous rescues of snakes and other wild animals. If you ever spot an animal in distress, alert the Wildlife SOS team on our rescue helpline."