Burmese python spotted in Letang forest rescued

By Our Correspondent,Biratnagar, July 19: A Burmese python, listed as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), was found in the Karmabote forest of Letang Municipality-5 in Morang on Friday.

Local women working in a nearby paddy field saw the python on a tree and informed Ward Chairman Bhumsurya Magar. Upon receiving the report, Magar notified the Sub-Division Forest Office in Letang. 

Following this, a snake rescue team was deployed, said Satya Narayan Jha, chief of the Sub-Division Forest Office in Letang.

The rescued python was later relocated to the Betana Wetland in Belbari, Morang, according to Ram Lakhan Thakur, Information Officer at the Division Forest Office, Morang.

Scientifically known as Python bivittatus, this reptile species is native to the warm monsoon regions of South Asia, said Ram Chandra Adhikari, a zoologist and environmental expert at Degree Campus, Biratnagar. 

“Although globally rare, Burmese pythons are more commonly found in Nepal and India,” he said.

These pythons are calm in nature and mildly venomous. They can grow 12 to 15 feet in length and weigh between 80 to 90 kilograms. “Once fully fed, they can survive without food for three to four months, but they typically feed on rats and birds every two weeks,” Adhikari added.

Experts said that besides the Burmese python, the Asiatic rock python is also found in Nepal. The National Park and Wildlife Conservation Act lists pythons as protected wildlife.

According to Thakur, a total of 377 snakes of various species -- including eight pythons -- were rescued from different parts of Morang during the fiscal year 2024/25 and released into the Char Koshe forest belt.

Among them, 208 were rat snakes and 82 kraits. These snakes and pythons were mostly rescued from storage rooms, household toilets and farmland. The highest number -- 335 snakes -- were rescued from within the Biratnagar Metropolitan City area.