Snake rescue goes viral, puts Kovai catchers in trouble | Chennai News

Two snake catchers in Coimbatore found themselves in a difficult situation after they posted a video of their rat snake rescue operation on social media. The video went viral and on Monday evening, Coimbatore Forest Department officials arrested the two, who were later produced before a Justice of the Peace and released on bail.

The forest department issued a statement on Tuesday morning saying that Abdul Rahman alias Sanjay of Puliyakulam and Uma Maheswari of Chinnavedampatti were booked under the Wildlife Protection Act for recording videos of the rescue of an Indian rat snake without permission and uploading the videos on social media.

Although there are several snake catchers in the area, the duo, according to district forest officer N Jayaraj, did the following wrong: “Those who have to catch snakes should catch them with pliers. Also, after rescuing the snakes, they have to put them in a bag and hand them over to the forest department officials. After that, the snakes are released in the reserve forest. They are not allowed to make videos of themselves holding the snakes.”

In the viral video, Uma Maheswari is seen holding the snake wrapped around her arms while speaking. Uma, who works with the Jeeva Shanthi Trust, which cremates unclaimed bodies, has joined hands with Abdul to rescue snakes in residential areas and hand them over to the forest department. Abdul has rescued around 20,000 snakes in the last 24 years in the city of Coimbatore.

“We rescued the rat snake from the city water tank area on the afternoon of May 22. Uma, who has been working with me for four years, recorded videos after the rescue, asking people to inform her if they see snakes in residential areas,” says Abdul. This video was created to create public awareness. I even saved the video as my WhatsApp status. Many online media channels downloaded the video and that's how it went viral.”

Abdul says despite the arrest, he received more than seven distress calls on Tuesday. “I asked people to contact the forest department to capture the snakes,” he says.

Uma Maheswari, says Jayaraj, is not a snake charmer. “After rescuing the snake, the two kept it with them for one and a half hours instead of handing it over to the forest department. Rat snakes are now listed under Schedule 1 (endangered species requiring strict protection) in the Wildlife Protection Act, so we are obliged to register a case and make an arrest,” he says.

The Tamil Nadu Forest Department has a list of snake charmers across the state, which will likely be published soon, says Jayaraj. “Snake charmers are not allowed to collect money from the public for their rescue.”

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