Snakes are one of the most misunderstood animals. Even though most are non-venomous, they end up being killed by humans just out of fear and ignorance.
In March 2026, residents of East Delhi spotted a saw-scaled viper (Echis carinatus) inside their home and did something everyone should do — they called for help. The Wildlife SOS Rapid Response Unit arrived, secured the snake, and released it safely. It was a rare sighting in Delhi-NCR, the first in over a decade. For the snake, it was simply another desperate search for shelter in a city that keeps shrinking around it. This is the reality most snakes in India live — and die — in.
The Breathing Ground Beneath, Is Gone
Before a single brick is laid, a crane tears into the earth. Soil is not empty and lifeless; it is a living world — home to worms, insects, microorganisms, burrowing mammals and yes, snakes. When land is cleared for construction, these lives are erased without a second thought. As forests shrink and greenery disappears, snakes are pushed into human spaces. They seek shade, warmth, and safety in abandoned buildings and residential areas, not out of aggression, but out of necessity. Snakes are not invading our spaces, they are simply looking for one to survive in.
Fear Kills More Than Venom Does
India is home to nearly 300 snake species. Of these, the vast majority are non-venomous. Yet thousands of snakes are either used for entertainment, or beaten to death every year.
The common Indian wolf snake (Lycodon aulicus) is frequently mistaken for the venomous common krait (Bungarus caeruleus) and is killed on sight. The Indian rat snake (Ptyas mucosa), one of the most effective natural pest controllers, has the ability to widen its neck and so, is regularly confused for a cobra and eliminated out of fear. It’s ironic that in a country where Lord Shiva, a deity portrayed with a snake coiled around his neck, is worshipped, snakes remain the most misunderstood, disliked creatures that face extreme cruelty.
There Is Nothing Charming About Snake Charming
For generations, snakes were captured from the wild, defanged without anaesthesia, starved, and forced to perform. The sapera tradition, once intertwined with India’s cultural fabric, masked extraordinary cruelty. Today, all Indian snake species are protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Capturing or harming them is a criminal offence. And yet, illegal wildlife trade continues to threaten species like the red sand boa (Eryx johnii), targeted for baseless superstitions about good luck.
A Season of Movement, a Season of Risk
Every April and May, snake sightings rise sharply across India. Amidst their breeding season, snakes move to seek mates and an apt nesting ground. However, instead of resorting to natural spaces, they are now increasingly being sighted in urban and residential spaces during this time. Habitat fragmentation and its overlap with human territories is largely behind such encounters. In Kashmir, Wildlife SOS recently rescued two mating pairs, one of Indian rat snakes and the other being Levantine vipers (Macrovipera lebetinus), from kitchen gardens and government premises respectively. The vipers are usually found in terrains that are dry, rocky, and mountainous, and during this season, female snakes of various species look out for hidden places to lay the eggs. These unlikely rescues show how amidst mass anthropogenic activities, snakes are in desperate need of a suitable habitat. Awareness is key to understanding, learning and protecting these precious snakes.
When the Earth becomes Too Hot
2024 was the hottest year ever recorded on Earth. 2025 followed close behind. For snakes, this is not a statistic — the change results in a forced behavioural shift
Snakes are ectothermic. They do not generate their own body heat and rely on external sources for it. When the ground scorches and the air offers no relief, they move into drains, under debris, inside homes — anywhere that promises shade and a few degrees of mercy.
Wildlife SOS Rapid Response Units have observed a clear pattern: as summer temperatures rise earlier and higher each year, snake rescues from residential and urban spaces increase in tandem. The snakes are not becoming bolder. Human impact on the planet is forcing them to adapt to spaces that are unnatural to their kind. Snake species survived the very asteroid that erased the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. Today, threat is much closer to them than from outer space.
What You Can Do
If you spot a snake, do not panic. Do not attempt to handle or harm it. Maintain a safe distance, and call trained rescuers immediately.
Wildlife SOS operates 24×7 emergency rescue helplines:
- Delhi-NCR: +91 9871963535
- Agra & Mathura: +91 9917109666
- Vadodara: +91 9825011117
- Jammu & Kashmir: +91 7006692300 & +91 9419778280
To know more about our reptile rescue operations, join the Wildlife SOS Reptiles Facebook group.
Snakes have survived on this planet for over 100 million years — through mass extinctions, ice ages, and the rise of human civilisation. The one thing they have not evolved a defence against is the indifference by us.
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Feature Image: Wildlife SOS
