700 Students Attend Awareness Event on World Snake Day

Hyderabad: World Snake Day was celebrated on Tuesday at Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad. An awareness programme was also organised at the Reptile House Amphitheatre on the zoo campus. Around 700 school students and 600 visitors took part in the event, which aimed at educating people about snakes and its role in the ecosystem.

M. Deepak Tarun, education officer at the zoo, gave a live demonstration of snakes and explained its habitat, how to identify venomous and non-venomous species and what to do in case of snakebite.

Nehru Zoological Park is home to 20 different species of snakes, both venomous and non-venomous. These include king cobra, spectacled cobra, bamboo pit viper, Russell's viper, krait, Indian rock python, rat snake and sand boa. Other reptiles such as green iguana, chameleon, flap shell turtle, star tortoise, Bengal monitor lizard and water monitor lizard are also housed in the zoo.

Visitors and teachers appreciated the efforts of the director, curator, public relations officer (PRO) and zoo education officer (ZEO) in spreading awareness about wildlife and conservation.

Dr. Sunil S. Hiremath, IFS, director of zoo parks, Telangana, said, “Nehru Zoological Park is the first zoo in the country to introduce a glass-barrier enclosure for reptiles, which gives visitors a better viewing experience. Regular awareness programmes on eco days are possible only because of the dedicated efforts of our staffers.”