Local people in Panchagarh have rescued an eight-foot python from a paddy field and handed it over to the forest department. The snake was rescued on the morning of Saturday, 21 October, from Amtala, an area of the upazila headquarters on the Indian border.

According to the forest department and local sources, the python had become caught in the netting fence around the paddy field of Jahirol Islam in Amtala. A local man named Tarikul saw it in the morning when he went to cut bamboo beside the field. As word spread, crowds gathered to see the snake. Local wildlife expert Sahidul Islam then rescued it with the help of forest department staff.

Sahidul Islam, president of a wildlife and snake protection organisation, said: "We think the snake entered Bangladesh from India across the border. It has been handed to the forest department. This snake is known as the Burmese python. Snakes of this kind are not usually seen in this area."

Madhusudhan Barman, range officer of the Panchagarh forest department, said the rescued snake weighs more than 20 kg, is eight feet long and is about two years old. It has been sent to the Dinajpur forest department, which will release it in Ramsagar park in Dinajpur.

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