A cobra is trying to find a way out in the suburbs of Hyderabad. File | Photo credit: NAGARA GOPAL
An analysis of 55,467 snakes rescued between 2013 and 2022 in Hyderabad showed that 54% of all rescued snakes belonged to venomous species. And the spectacled cobra (Naja naja, venomous snake) and the Indian rat snake (Ptyas mucous, non-venomous snake), accounted for almost 76% of all rescues. Of the 3,379 networks spread across the city and its peripheral areas within the Outer Ring Road (ORR), 232 (6.90%) significant hotspots were identified concentrated in the rapidly urbanizing eastern corridors.
The observations are part of a research study titled “Urban snake ecology revealed through the lens of ten years of megacity snake rescue data,” published in Global Ecology and Conservation. Authored by Avinash C. Visvanathan and others of Friends of Snakes Society (FOS), Hyderabad, in association with CSIR-CCMB LaCONES.
Published – May 5, 2026 10:40 PM IST
