Headlines
Maharashtra fishermen net 100-kg rock python!
Thane (Maharashtra), July 24
When Mahesh Patil
and Gokul Patil drew their fishing nets from a nearby creek to see what
all they had netted, the two fishermen least expected a "heavyweight"
lurking among their catch - a python.
The three-metre long
reptile - later identified as an Indian rock python - weighing a hefty
100 kg somehow got trapped in the nets after heavy rain on Wednesday.
Both
surprised and scared, the two fishermen from Bhiwandi town in Thane
district immidiately dropped the nets again into the muddy waters and
rushed back ashore to summon help on Thursday afternoon.
All this while, a large number of fisherfolks gathered around to have a glimpse of the big snake.
Shortly
afterwards, a local snake expert, Kishore Gaikwad, from nearby Dunge
village and his associate Hitesh Mehta rushed to the spot.
"We
drew the nets from water along with the massive python entangled in it.
It was scared and angry too, but we calmed it down carefully," Gaikwad
told IANS.
The snake experts then conducted a thorough
examination of the reptile and found no physical injuries. Later, the
snake was measured and weighed.
With the help of curious
fisherfolk and other villagers, Gaikwad carried the python to a nearby
petrol pump and later sent her to Sanjay Gandhi National Park in
Borivali (Mumbai), where many pythons abound.
"It is an Indian
rock python that cannot survive in water. Luckily, it could keep its
head just above water through the holes in the fishing nets and managed
to breathe," Gaikwad said.
Mehta said the snake must have been
washed into the creek by flood waters following Wednesday's downpour in
the region, recorded between 40-50 cm in a single day.