UNB, Panchagarh :
A rare red coral kukri snake was spotted again in Kajoldighi union of Panchagarh on Tuesday night.
This time, it was rescued by a local name Md Shahiduzzaman Shahid.
The snake was released at a suitable habitat at Natunhat area in Boda Upazila at the advice of Wildlife Inspector of Forest Department Abdullah Sadiq.
Shahid said, “Many people gathered to see the snake at a neighbouring house when it entered there. I rescued it and kept it with me before handing it over to the experts.”
Wildlife photographer and conservationist Feroz Al Saba was among the three people who took the snake from Shahid and brought it to forest department officials.
He said, “This rare species of snake has been spotted in Panchagarh three times in a row.”
“As these snakes cannot bear sunlight, the rescued snake was released at a suitable place at night,” he added.
According to researchers, the mild venomous snake was seen no more than 30 times in the world.
It has been spotted thrice in Bangladesh-in Panchagarh on every occasion. The last time the snake was seen was in February this year. It was spotted the first time in the district last year. A Hindustan Times report quoting forest officials said the rare snake was first spotted in Lakhimpur Kheri area of Uttar Pradesh in 1936 from where it got its scientific name ‘Oligodon kheriensis’.
The suffix ‘kukri’ in its name comes from Kukri or curved knife of the Gorkhas as its teeth are curved like the blade of the Kukri. It has been spotted a few times in India’s hilly state of Uttarakhand.
