Puri: Thanks to artificial incubation, 64 hatchlings of a Cheqkered Keelback snake could see the light of day on Monday in Puri district.
According to Snake Helpline, the four-foot-long mother snake was found with a clutch of eggs at Brahamagiri in the district on March 14.
Snake Helpline volunteer Sidhartha Patnaik rescued the mother and eggs and handed them to the Brahamagiri Wildlife Range Office.
The mother snake was released in a suitable natural habitat away from the village. The eggs were then handed over to Snake Helpline for artificial incubation.
Finally after 21 days of artificial incubation, the eggs started to hatch on Sunday. The next day, a total of 64 babies hatched.
All the hatchlings were then handed over to Brahamagiri Range Office and released in the wild in the presence of a forest official.
Founder of Snake Helpline, Subhendu Mallik said, “Snakes lay eggs in places where they get safety along with optimum temperature and humidity required for incubation. Once the nesting place is disturbed, the eggs won’t hatch on their own. Furthermore, the chekered keelback snakes guard their eggs till they hatch. We are happy that the 64 snake babies got to see the light of day,”
