Cat-Eyed Snake for Slovakia

CHENNAI: Forest department officials on Wednesday rescued a one-and-ahalf-foot cat-eyed snake from an unusual location — a private courier firm in Nungambakkam from where it was to be sent to Slovakia.
An employee of the firm scanning parcels before sending them to the airport noticed something suspicious inside one and informed his seniors. They alerted the police who opened the parcel and found a rectangular cover wrapped in a cloth in the outer envelope.Then came a ‘hissing’ sound and they suspected it was a snake. Forest officials were informed and a team led by ranger Dr S David Raj rushed to the office.
“We opened the parcel carefully and found a video cassette covered by a cloth. Inside was a snake put in a sock. It was found to be a brown common cat-eyed snake with hexagonal and square-shaped scales all over the body,” David Raj later told TOI.
Cat-eyed snakes are found in India and Australia. “This is the first time we have come across smuggling of this kind and we are verifying whether the snake has any medicinal value,” another forest department official said.
According to sources, the parcel was sent by a person named Karthik in Trichy who had booked the parcel at the courier firm’s branch near Srirangam on Monday. The parcel was destined for a person named Gabriel in Slovakia. “After we asked them to check the antecedents of the accused, the Trichy police verified and found the address given by the man named Karthik fake. Now, we will send the address of Gabriel to the CBI, the nodal agency to interact with Interpol, to check,” a police officer said.
The parcel was sent to the firm’s Chennai head office where all consignments meant for foreign destinations are scrutinized. “Police teams interrogated the staff at the courier firm’s office which doesn’t have a closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera. We are now trying to get a profile of the accused from the description given by the staff,” a police officer said.
According to police sources, Chennai is becoming a transit point for smugglers taking animals abroad. Turtles, red turtles, ornamental fish, star tortoise, tiger skins and other precious animals are among the targets, they say. The city has a sizeable population of both venomous and non-venomous snakes, including cobras, kraits, vipers and rat snakes.
Of late, many sand boas have been smuggled to countries where they are known for their medicinal value. Last year, two sand boas were stolen from their glass cabins in the snake park on Sardar Patel Road.
All About The Common Cat-eyed Snake
Cat-eyed snakes have vertically elliptical pupils like those of cats, which they can open and contract to suit light conditions
Cat-eyed snakes are slender, light brown to grayish with darkerblotches down the middle of the back inter-spersed with smaller, dark blotches along their sides
They have bulging, brown eyes and can grow up to 35 inches (90cm) long.
Female cat-eyed snakes are able to store sperm for up to four years, which is an advantage for a species with a low population density They live on the leaves of Palmyra trees, under the stones and bushes
They are arboreal snakes as they are tree climbers. They eat lizards, mice, frogs and small birds
They are not very poisonous; they use their fangs mostly on their preys
They are often killed because they are mistaken for deadly vipers