Rescued Asiatic water snake gives birth in enclosure

Our Correspondent
Imphal, June 23 (EMN): In a first of its kind, a female checkered keelback snake, commonly known as Asiatic water snake, laid eggs in captivity and gave birth to 28 young ones under natural conditions (without using incubators) in an enclosure developed by the People For Animal(PFA) Manipur in Thoubal district on Wednesday.

According to L Biswajeet Meitei, Managing trustee of PFA Manipur, the said female snake was rescued by his team from a house at Thoubal Kshetri Leikai in Thoubal district on April 24 and kept in a container for her release at a suitable site.

However the snake laid eggs inside the container itself when the volunteers of the PFA Manipur tried to release it on April 26.Without delay, the snake along with the eggs numbering around 43 have been evacuated to a newly developed artificial nesting site under the care of the PFA Manipur.

Every week, the PFA Manipur volunteers gave natural feeds to the snake besides spraying water on a daily basis to enhance the natural hatching process at the nesting site, a press release issued on Wednesday informed.

After 59 days, 28 newborn reptiles of the same species successfully hatched while 15 others were found dead, the release said.

When contacted, Biswajeet Meitei informed that the newborn snakes will be released to their natural habitat within the shortest possible time as the checkered keelback species plays an important role in our ecosystem. Traditionally there is a belief in Manipur that this water non-venomous snakes have a vital role in controlling the biodiversity of every locality in Imphal valley.