Rare snake rescued from Kapsi, 2nd sighting in Vidarbha

Nagpur: A rare yellow bellied green cat snake was rescued from Baradwari near Kapsi on Bhandara Road on Sunday night. This is the first record of this reptile species in Nagpur.
“I got a call from Nishant Patel, who runs a steel furnishing unit, about the presence of a snake. What looked like a normal snake turned out to a rare one,” said sarpamitra Sagar Choudhari, a resident of Pardi. “I handed over the snake to Transit Treatment Centre, Seminary Hills,” he added.
Herpetologist Parag Dandge said the first record of the yellow bellied green cat snake (Boiga Flavivirdis) in Vidarbha was at Kothari in Chandrapur. The snake was first reported by wildlife lover Umesh Zire.
Zire said, “I had attended a call from Kothari and found it to be unusual. I took help if wildlife lover Roheet Karu and identified the snake.”
“The snake is found in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Chattisgarh and Odisha. This is not a well-known species, and its ecology and biology is still poorly studied. Road mortality and habitat destruction is the threat like other reptile species from Vidarbha,” said Dandge.
Choudhary said, “The unit from where I rescued the snake is surrounded by saw mills, where timber is bought from other states. The snake must have come along with a consignment of wooden logs.”
Transit Treatment Centre RFO GN Jadhav said, “The snake will be released in its natural habitat on Tuesday.”