Female Burmese Python Rescued with Eggs by CWRC’s MVS Unit
Dr Samshul Ali (top) and Raju Kutum rescue the Burmese python. The eggs, already in a crate, can be seen in the foreground
Responding to an emergency call from the forest department, the MVS team comprised of veterinarian Dr Samshul Ali and animal keeper Raju Kutum arrived at the Assam Bangiya Saraswat Math (aka Shanti Ashram), located on the banks of the Brahmaputra River, with forest officials from Jorhat. The ashram’s management informed them that the snake (later identified as a Burmese python) was found coiled around its eggs in the corner of a shed used to store cattle feed. The nest had been uncovered the previous evening as a pile of hay was moved to one side.
A large crowd had gathered by the time the MVS team reached the spot and the python, no longer visible, was thought to have abandoned its nest. One of the eggs had also been broken open and the viable hatchling, about 10 inches long, killed — sources on the scene said by a local fisherman. The Burmese python, it must be noted, is protected under Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
The clutch of eggs being placed in the enriched glass-sided crate
Upon removing some of the hay in the area around the nest, however, the female python was discovered nearby. The situation demanded that both the eggs and the python be transported to CWRC for them to have any chance of survival. “One of the eggs had already been smashed and the spot had become something of a public attraction. The nest would not have been left undisturbed”, Dr Ali said.
The python, coiled around her eggs, in the Small Animal Nursery at CWRC
When the MVS team returned to CWRC Dr Ali and lead veterinarian Dr Panjit Basumatary supervised the ideal enrichment of a glass-sided box in which the female python could incubate her clutch of eggs. The box has been positioned in a partitioned room in the Small Animal Nursery. Since the eggs are at an advanced stage of viability, just about five to ten days short of maturity, it is hoped that at least some of them will hatch successfully.
