22 Indian rock pythons hatched in artificial incubator
MUMBAI: On Tuesday, 22 eggs of the Indian rock python were hatched in an artificial incubator, almost a month after they were rescued from drainage pipelines in Vikhroli by Mumbai forest officials and volunteers of the Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare (RAWW). Indian rock pythons are generally found in some vegetation pockets around the city, mainly in Sanjay Gandhi National Park or its outskirts.
On May 18, RAWW and the forest officials received a distress call from workers who were carrying out pre-monsoon cleaning off the Eastern Express Highway in Vikhroli. As the work was underway, the workers spotted a female python protecting her 22 eggs inside a drainage pipeline. 'No one touched the python, as the drainage line was attached to the highway. If it had moved, it would have caused a problem on the busy street,' said Pawan Sharma, founder of RAWW.
Sharma said that the rescued Indian rock python then underwent medical tests. 'Once the veterinarian confirmed that it was healthy, we released it in its natural habitat,' he added. The location of the release remains undisclosed, as the Indian rock python is protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, and is at risk of being hunted or poached.
After the release of the python, the eggs were handed over to the NGO by the forest officials and stored in an incubator at the RAWW office in Mulund. The incubator was fashioned out of a cardboard box and cushioned with activated charcoal, soil, coco peat (the inner fibre of a coconut) and fertilisers to create a suitable environment for the eggs. The incubator also had an attached digital thermometer to maintain the required 27 to 29 degrees Celsius and the humidity level. 'We would check the temperature every two days,' said Chinmay Joshi, zoologist, who overlooked the process of hatchlings.
Indian rock pythons are generally found in some vegetation pockets around the city, mainly in Sanjay Gandhi National Park or its outskirts, Thane creek, and Tungareshwar Sanctuary in Vasai-Virar. 'During the monsoons, they tend to take shelter in drainage pipes, as these provide an ideal habitat where food is also easily available, and the temperature is easy to maintain,' said Joshi. Pythons are a species that can hunt anything from a small rabbit to a spotted deer by themselves.
Of the 22 eggs, about six to seven hatched on Monday, while the rest hatched by Tuesday evening. 'The fitness of the eggs was determined when the python was rescued,' said Sharma. 'Once the veterinarian gives us the go-ahead, we will release the baby snakes into their natural habitat, given that these species have natural mechanisms to survive in the wild.'
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