A venomous Russell's viper (chandrabora) has been caught in a fisherman's net in the Gorai river at Kumarkhali, Kushtia. The snake was caught at around 12.30pm on Saturday, 12 August, in a fishing net in the Gorai near Atiar Mor in the Baniapara area of Koya union, Kumarkhali upazila.

Local people alerted the BBCF Kushtia team and the Forest Department. The BBCF Kushtia team rescued the snake from the fisherman's fish trap (doyar) and handed it over to Forest Department officials.

Shahabuddin Milon, vice-president of the Bangladesh Biodiversity Conservation Federation (BBCF) and president of Manush Manusher Jonno, Kushtia, said they received news around noon on Saturday that a snake was stuck in a local fisherman's trap in the Gorai near Atiar Mor in Baniapara. "We went there immediately and rescued the snake. After the rescue we confirmed it was a Russell's viper, one of the most venomous snakes in the world. The snake was then handed over to the Forest Department," he said.

Md Jewel Ahmed, an officer of the Kushtia Social Forestry Division, said he learned through the divisional forest officer that a snake was stuck in fishermen's nets in Baniapara village of Kumarkhali upazila. With the help of Shahabuddin Milon, they rescued the snake and brought it back. The Khulna wildlife unit has been consulted, and the snake will be released later as it directs, he said.

Seven Russell's vipers have been rescued from the Gorai river on several occasions this year, including from fishermen's nets.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.