Nagpur: In an unusual incident of crime against wildlife, a mating pair of Indian rock pythons was killed by unidentified persons at Rahatgaon under Wadali range near Amravati.
The bodies of the two eight-feet-long reptiles, intertwined as in mating position, were later dumped in a drain.
Indian rock python is listed in Schedule-I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and has similar protection like tigers.
“The spot, where the pythons were found dead, doesn’t seem to be an ideal habitat. The reptiles were smashed with sticks and must have been killed in nearby farms and dumped in the drain where thickets have come up,” said sarpamitra Mukesh Waghmare.
Waghmare spotted the dead pythons on Monday evening when he had gone there to release a rat snake rescued from a house. He first called forest helpline 1926, but as there was no response, foresters were informed.
“It is really unfortunate that the reptiles were killed. Had we been informed earlier, we could have easily rescued the reptiles and released in a safe habitat. Forest department needs to spread awareness on the importance of snakes,” said Waghmare.
State wildlife board member Yadav Tarte demanded action against the culprits. Forest department has secret fund for gathering intelligence related to poaching cases in the wildlife habitats, which should be used to trace and punish those responsible for killing the pythons.
Forester Shyam Deshmukh, who did a spot panchnama, said, “As of now, no offence has been registered. It is difficult to nail anyone without substantial evidence.”
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