The Bangladesh Wildlife Service Foundation has rescued a young Siebold's water snake, a rare species, in Sreemangal, Moulvibazar.

The snake was rescued unharmed on the night of Wednesday, 26 August, from Kunjaban village near the border in Sindurkhan union of the upazila.

According to local sources, panic spread among villagers when they saw the young snake that night. Informed through local teacher Ekramul Kabir, the foundation's director Swapan Deb Sajal and Rajdeep Deb Deep went to the spot and rescued it.

Because the species could not be identified at first, the snake was handed over to the Sreemangal forest range office. It was then sent to the Zoology department of Jahangirnagar University for confirmation and detailed study, which confirmed that it was a Siebold's water snake.

It is a very rare, non-venomous aquatic snake with no specific name in Bengali. In Bangladesh it is only occasionally seen in the Rangpur and Kurigram region.

Kazi Nazmul Haque, range officer of the Wildlife and Nature Conservation Division, said the snake would undergo the necessary health checks, after which further steps would be taken as decided by higher authorities.

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