A college student in Odisha was bitten by a venomous snake while trying to remove it from a house — and still managed to trap the reptile before heading to the hospital.
The most alarming part isn't just the bite itself, but that authorities and local rescuers said she wasn't trained to do the job in the first place.
Here's what to know
Authorities identified the student as Soumya Satpathy, a college student from Murgabadi in Baripada's Bhanjpur police area, according to The New Indian Express.
Doctors at Baripada district headquarters hospital treated Satpathy with anti-venom, and she was later reported to be stable. Before that, she was bitten while trying to remove a snake from a house in Baripada town with her father and then confined it in a plastic bottle.
Environmentalists cited by The New Indian Express said multiple people in Baripada and nearby villages were removing snakes from homes for money despite lacking training. The danger did not come only from the snake. It also came from informal paid wildlife handling without proper training or official authorization.
It also said some of these operators allegedly appeal to religious beliefs to defend their rescue work, even though the practice can endanger both them and the public.
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More background
Wildlife encounters inside homes can become even more dangerous when unqualified people step in. In this case, the snake was inside a residence, a setting that can create panic and pressure to act quickly. But quick action isn't always safe, especially when venomous reptiles are involved.
A trained snake rescuer, Chandan Kumar Gochhayat, told The New Indian Express that untrained people were still taking on snake removals in Baripada, putting themselves and others in danger. A poorly handled rescue can also put the animal and other people nearby at risk.
What's being done?
Mayurbhanj's forest and wildlife department said it issued notices and urged residents to use the officially registered snake rescue helpline when they find a snake.
Under department rules, only trained and officially approved people are supposed to carry out snake rescues. The move aims to curb the informal, for-cash rescue activity described by environmentalists.
Residents were urged to use the official rescue channel rather than rely on untrained people to handle a snake inside a home.
Prakash Chand Gogineni, the STR field director, directed the divisional forest officer in Baripada to take immediate action against people involved in snake rescues without proper training.
Where can I learn more?
This case is one of several showing how quickly a snake encounter at home can turn serious.
• In India, a snake in a washing machine bit two people before causing hospital panic.
• In Telangana, an Indian cobra inside some grandparents' house had to be bagged for relocation.
• In Dhaka, experts said venomous snakes entering settlements were increasingly tied to urbanization.
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