A venomous snake known as the yellow-bellied sea snake has been found on Kuakata sea beach in Patuakhali.

On Thursday (20 June), a tour guide named Masum Billah saw the snake in the tamarisk (jhau) grove area on the east side of the beach. On receiving the news, members of Animal Lovers rescued it.

KM Bachchu, a member of the Kalapara team of Animal Lovers of Patuakhali, told Jago News that tour guide Masum Billah had seen the yellow-bellied sea snake in front of the tamarisk grove on the east side of Kuakata beach. "We rushed there on hearing the news. The snake was removed with the safety of tourists visiting Kuakata in mind," he said.

This is not the first time: two of these snakes were seen in 2022 and one in 2023. Rare snakes, whales and turtles are also being seen near Kuakata beach.

Abul Kalam Azad, Mohipur range officer of the Forest Department, said the snake has a yellow belly and a black upper body. It lives in the sea, its English name is yellow-bellied sea snake, and it belongs to the Hydrophiidae family.

He added: "This snake lives in the deep sea and is very rarely seen near the shore. But it is extremely venomous. If it strikes someone, death can be instant; it does not even give time to reach hospital. No antibiotic for it has yet been made in Bangladesh."

According to Wikipedia, the yellow-bellied sea snake is a venomous species from the sea found in tropical ocean waters except the Atlantic.

Sagarika Smriti, an associate researcher on the ECOFISH-II Bangladesh project of WorldFish, a research organisation working on the blue economy, the coastal environment and biodiversity, told Jago News that it ranks fourth among all snakes on land and at sea worldwide. It is highly venomous and rarely seen. The snake was seen on Cox's Bazar and Kuakata beaches in June last year, she said.

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