A highly venomous snake called belcheri has been spotted on Kuakata beach.

The snake was rescued from the Zero Point area late on Tuesday night, 14 November, and released into the Bay of Bengal.

SI Idris of the tourist police's Kuakata zone said a tourist walking on the beach at night first saw the snake. It was thrown back into the sea once but washed up again. The second time, two tourists saw it and told the police. The snake was then rescued and released into the Bay of Bengal again.

H M Samim, founding president of Animal Lovers of Patuakhali, said that although many people consider the inland taipan the world's most venomous snake, the most venomous is actually the belcheri, about 100 times more venomous than the inland taipan. The sea-dwelling snake grows from 0.5 metres to 1 metre long.

He said it does not usually attack anyone but may bite if disturbed repeatedly. There is not much to fear from it, he added, because even when it bites, in most cases no venom enters. But for someone unlucky, its venomous bite can cause death in less than 15 minutes.

Hasnain Parvez, police inspector of the tourist police's Kuakata zone, said venomous sea snakes are seen on Kuakata beach from time to time. "Besides spreading awareness among tourists, we are working to protect snakes and other coastal wildlife," he said. He added that it is very important to keep antivenom in Kuakata for tourists' sake.

Earlier, on the night of Thursday, 9 June, a rare yellow-billed sea snake was seen on the beach. On 21 July at around 11am, a dead yellow-bellied sea snake was found west of the beach's Zero Point. Locals also recently saw a venomous bright mangrove snake.

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