Volunteers revive heat-struck, dehydrated snake in Kondhwa’s urban forest with sips from water bottle

Pune: The relentless summer heat has not only left city residents struggling in the last many weeks, but has also played havoc with the health of urban wildlife. Amid this suffering, however, are emerging some stories of kindness and hope.

One such recent episode witnessed volunteers risking their safety to bring a severely dehydrated, motionless snake back to life by offering it water. The incident took place inside Anandvan 5, a 75-acre urban forest restoration site near Majestique Euriska society in Handewadi.

On the morning of May 19, members of the Anandvan Foundation were supervising ongoing work at the site, where nearly 35-40 acres are still being developed into a forest space. Large earthmover machines were carrying out stone pitching and infrastructure work, when one of the drivers suddenly stopped after spotting something unusual ahead.

“The driver came to us and said he did not want to move forward as he could see a snake. When we went closer, we saw the snake partly buried in the soil. It could not wriggle out. At first, we could not tell whether it was injured or had collapsed because of the heat,” said Praveen Kumar, founder of Anandvan Foundation.

Anandvan co-founder Bhupesh Sharma and other volunteers carefully lifted the reptile out of the mud and moved it into the shade. The snake appeared limp and severely exhausted.

“We had water bottles with us, so we slowly offered it some water. The snake immediately started drinking. I have never seen a snake drink water like this. Slowly, it regained movement and after resting for some time, it became active again and slithered back into the forest,” Kumar said.

The rescue was captured on video and later shared by Sharma on Instagram, where viewers watched the snake slowly raise its head and drink directly from the bottle.

The reptile is believed to be a non-venomous rat snake, commonly found in Pune’s green spaces. Wildlife enthusiasts say the behaviour seen in the video strongly points to dehydration and heat stress following last week’s intense temperatures in the city.

For Sharma, helping the animal felt instinctive. “My brother and I have always been close to wildlife. When we walk through the forests, we often come across snakes and we do not panic because we can identify the non-venomous ones. We have also rescued birds that fell from nests, cared for them and released them once they recovered. Helping animals has always come naturally to us,” he shared.

Reptiles are especially vulnerable during extreme heat as they depend entirely on environmental temperatures to regulate body heat. Unlike mammals, snakes cannot sweat or cool themselves internally. Prolonged heatwaves can leave them dehydrated, weak and disoriented, as per experts.

Even Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park in Katraj has intensified summer protection measures for reptiles this year. Zoo director Rajkumar Jadhav said coolers, fans, foggers and other systems are being used across enclosures to maintain safe temperatures for animals during the unusually harsh summer.

“It is true that temperatures have been quite high this year and we are taking extra efforts to ensure proper care of all animals. We have systems in place to maintain ambient temperatures for snakes and reptiles even when temperatures rise outside,” said Jadhav.