There is a five-fold increase in the number of snakes rescued in Telangana by Friends of Snake Society, in coordination with the State Forest department, in the past 10 years; from 3,097 in 2016 to 15,265 in 2025. Venomous snakes constituted 55.61% of the reptiles rescued last year. Increase in construction and development activity was one of the factors for the rescues clustered in the urban fringes, with some of the hotspots being Miyapur, Dammaiguda, Nagaram, Rampally, Manikonda, Bandalguda Jagir, Vanasthalipuram and Balapur. Majority of the rescues were within Outer Ring Road limits. 49.3% were Spectacled Cobras Of the 15,265 snakes rescued last year, Spectacled Cobras constituted 49.3% (7,525), followed by 23.5% Rat Snakes (3587), 7.8% of Checkered keelback (1195) and 5.9% Russell’s Viper (897), according to the Society’s analysis of data on species composition.Avinash Visvanathan, general secretary, Friends of Snakes Society (FoSS) said that the dominance of venomous snakes in the composition has key implications on public safety and calls for the need for trained interventions in snake rescues. Trained members of the society rescued the …