The lockdown of 2020 saw people take up all kinds of hobbies. But none can trump Tapas Roy. He took to catching snakes since forest department officials were not available for rescue.
“My first solo rescues were during the lockdown. People would try to kill snakes. But once word got round that I could catch them, they started calling me instead,” says the 45-yearold barber with a salon in Jagatpur.
Even as he shaves and trims, his phone buzzes at the oddest hours. On Wednesday, he rescued an Indian Rat Snake which had taken shelter in an elevator pit at Jay Vayu Towers in New Town. “It was harmless but since it was over five feet long, residents were panicking,” he said.
On Tuesday, he was called to catch a palm civet in Kadampur, north of Aliah University. “It had an injury. Forest department officials collected it from me,” he said. And on Monday, he went to collect a Common Wolf Snake from a Rajarhat house.
“The entire family had locked itself out on the verandah though it was harmless,” said Roy, who released it in a wooded part of New Town.
Young inspiration
Roy picked up snake-catching from Soumyajyoti Dey, a fellow animal lover and activist who he had earlier accompanied on 15-20 catches. Soumyajyoti, a 25-year-old from Reckjuani, had started catching snakes when they started surfacing near his house.
“There was a wooded area close by which was cleared some months before the lockdown. So several poisonous snakes came out. Since they were a threat to the children who play in the Bhatri Sangha playground in front of our house, I decided to act,” said the commerce graduate who tutors students in the subject.
An avid watcher of National Geographic Channel, Soumyajyoti picked up tips from YouTube channels on snake rescues and put together his own kit — jungle boot, head torch, snake hook, snake tong, plastic jar or drum, bite-proof bag... The youth, who also treats sick street dogs at his own expense, follows a simple rule.
“I do not interfere if a snake is out in the fields. That is where its habitat is. If it strays into people’s houses, then I try to find out if it is poisonous. If it is not, I ask people to simply shoo it away. I go over if it is poisonous.” Only once has he been at threat.
“That was only because I had been misinformed that they had already caught a common krait in a jar. So I reached without equipment. On reaching, I realised it was a big drum, so the snake needed to be transferred into a jar. The snake tried to bite. All of us are wary of the breed as its teeth are so small that they leave no mark. The symptoms manifest late and are misleadingly commonplace. So I waited the whole day with bated breath to see if the bite on the jar surface had penetrated my hand as well. But l was lucky,” Soumyajyoti says.
He points out that it is a blunder if one assumes a snake would not harm a person trying to catch it.
“Recently I saw a news report that someone died while freehandling a snake. He had caught the snake without any equipment and was showing off by keeping it on his head. It bit him on the forehead which is usually fatal.”
Soumyajyoti is unsure of continuing as he has recently suffered a leg injury. “It will be unwise to go on a rescue if movement is even slightly compromised,” says the youth who has caught over 60 snakes in 2020-22.
Ecology warrior
Even if Soumyajyoti hangs up his jungle boots, Roy is going full steam ahead. “I am associated with Paschimbanga Bigyan Mancha and tell people about the importance of the ecological cycle. Rescuing injured animals, including snakes, is part of walking our talk,” he says.
Such is his reputation that beggars who seek alms from motorists showing live snakes at traffic signals have disappeared from the Baguiati crossing.
“I have caught seven-eight of them and handed the injured snakes over to the forest department. They break either their fang or damage the venom gland.” And like his trainer Soumyajyoti, Tapas does not charge a penny to make the rescues. “This is our contribution to nature,” he smiles.