Venomous snakes emerge in Banke as temperatures rise

Banke. With the onset of rising temperatures, various species of venomous snakes have begun appearing in Banke. The Division Forest Office reports that snakes, including Russell's vipers, cobras, kraits, rat snakes, and pythons, have been spotted.

Senior Divisional Forest Officer Shankar Prasad Gupta stated that as snakes struggle with the heat, they emerge in search of cooler environments, occasionally entering residential homes, from where they have been rescued. "Currently, we are rescuing at least one snake from human settlements daily, and sometimes up to three in a single day," he said.

He noted that more snakes have been seen above ground this summer compared to previous years, and those rescued are released back into the forest. Snake rescues were even conducted during the winter season of this fiscal year.

He informed that a total of 140 snakes of various species have been rescued so far this fiscal year. Gupta added that a rescue team has been formed under the coordination of Armed Forest Guard Thir Bahadur Thapa.

Mentioning that the team has been provided with basic equipment and training, he noted that rescues have been carried out in Kohalpur in addition to Nepalgunj. The Division Forest Office stated that its jurisdiction covers the entire district, excluding the Banke National Park and its buffer zones.

Meanwhile, a 'fire ambulance' team has been kept on standby in Banke to control forest fire incidents. Forest Officer Gupta stated that work on creating fire lines in the forest, along with the deployment of fire watchers, is ongoing. He mentioned that a fire spreading from Banke National Park was extinguished in Shamshergunj. "There were some fires in the forest, but they are now under control," he said.