Besides common problems like fallen trees and power cuts, this month’s rainfall has given rise to a new issue in the city – snakes. In the last week, the number of calls received by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) about snake sightings have doubled, officials have revealed. These sightings have been mostly reported from newly-developed areas as well as localities where civic work is ongoing.
While snake-related complaints usually increase in summer season, this year more complaints are being lodged in the pre-monsoon phase. “For a week now, we have been receiving 80 to 90 complaints a day. Normally, we only receive 35 to 40 complaints during the season,” said Prasanna Kumar, wildlife warden, BBMP. He added that the early hatching of snake eggs has given rise to this problem.
“The hatching season of snakes is usually in the month of June. This time, as it rained well, the eggs hatched early and in place of one snake, there are now 4 baby snakes. Indian checkered snake, Russell’s vipers and rat snakes are the most commonly seen snakes in Bengaluru. In a few weeks, cobras will also start coming out,” he explained.
