October 03, 2021, 05:49 PM
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Residents of the wild, including pythons, occasionally find themselves caught in a tight spot while navigating an urbanised Singapore.
On Sep. 20, 2021, rescuers from non-profit group Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) were alerted to a reticulated python who had gotten stuck in a drainage pipe.
The incident happened at a monsoon drain at Senoko, near Admiralty side.
A worker from a nearby factory noticed that the python seemed to be stuck and called Acres for help, Acres co-CEO Kalai Vanan told Mothership.
The rescue operation took 3.5 hours in total, involving six people from the Acres team.
As you can tell from the time and manpower involved, it was definitely not an easy rescue.
3.5-hour rescue operation
According to Kalai, the rescuers had to first find a safe platform to stand on before trying to extricate the snake from the drainage pipe.
"The water beneath was relatively deep," he added.
A long ladder was placed against the canal for the rescuers to stand on while attending to the python.
Photo courtesy of Acres.
Another challenge was to work under the sun, as the the python should not be exposed to direct sunlight for a prolonged period, Kalai said.
This would cause the reptile to be dehydrated. Therefore, more manpower was needed.
Rescuers Wayne Goh and Julia Waters focused on taking the python out of the drainage pipe, while Venisri Prithivi Raj and Alicia Wee from the veterinary team sedated the snake and helped to monitor its health during the operation.
Wildlife rescuer Wayne Goh attempting to extract the python. Photo courtesy of Acres.
Venisri, who is a vet, attending to the python with the help from fellow team mate Alicia Wee. Photo courtesy of Acres.
Venisri, who is a vet, sedating the python. Photo courtesy of Acres.
There was also Laura Day and Gerald Huang, who manage the rescue hotline and was on scene to assist with the rescue.
"The bulk of this team is pretty experienced and have been at it day in and day out through Covid-19," Kalai said.
He added that the passionate team of volunteers and staff at Acres are always on standby to take on difficult challenges and pride themselves for the efforts to rescue all wildlife, not just endangered ones.
Here's a snippet of the rescue, where you can hear cheers from the crew when Goh and Waters finally extricated the reptile from the narrow pipe:
The much anticipated moment:
Video courtesy of Acres.
Python in drainage pipes not uncommon
Acres has rescued "countless pythons and other snakes" from such situations, Kalai told Mothership.
This is because pythons use drainage pipes to move about in our urban areas. When one end of the drainage pipes is congested or when the snake meets a dead end, this will create a "sealed vacuum effect," preventing the snake from reversing out.
Snakes can also get caught on pieces of metal sticking out from inside pipe, causing them to land in such unfortunate situations, Kalai added.
Pythons and other snakes have taken on a bad rep due to myths and fictions that instill fear into people.
The truth is pythons, like many other wildlife, will only attack when they feel threatened or provoked.
If you see any animals in distress, you can contact Acres wildlife rescue team at 9783 7782 or NParks at 1800 476 1600.
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Top image courtesy of Acres
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